Today I've been thinking again about what a varied job I have and about
how thoroughly interleaved parts of my job are with parts of my non-work
life. That could be seen as a good thing because obviously I'm being paid
for doing what I'd do anyway, but also a bad thing because it's hard to
get away from work. For example, I bought an easel today for painting out
of doors, which you'd think was pure hobby. But as I'm doing it I'm
thinking about how I can use art as an example in Geography teaching,
about how observation (data collection) can be enhanced by but is also
limited by the established purpose of the experiment (sorry I mean
painting): Geography and life are one! Today I've updated a lecture to
deliver on Friday, reviewed a paper for the editors of the journal Earth
Science Reviews, adjudicated five University Appeals cases in my role as
Chair of the Appeals Committee, taken delivery of a new video camera for
use in teaching, (I'm not going to list the easel here because that was
really non-work!), corresponded with colleagues at other Universities
about research and writing projects, dealt with a bunch of student queries
on assorted topics, read some student work. Of course some bits of the job
are more fun than others, but the variety is part of the attraction. Along
with the flexibiity: I've managed to fit a full workload around also doing
me weekly shop, a coffee morning out in the country, getting the van
serviced. Even if I often work on-and-off from 7am till 11pm, it's really
nice not to have to work 9-5. Well, I see another appeals case has come
in, so I'm going to take a look at that...
Prompted Posting
petergknight
These are mostly posts in specific response to "prompts" like Saturday Centus or #HaikuChallenge. Other stuff goes on my website or blogs, which you can get at www.petergknight.com
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reflection 1st March
Thought for today: make lists and stick to them
reflective student, 28th Feb
Reflective, perhaps, but less effective today than I hoped to be.
Suffering from the typical student problem of distractions and poor focus
I have done only part of one of the two big jobs that were on my plate for
the day, but have spent a lot longer than I intended dealing with little
things that kept cropping up. A student last week commented that lecturers
find it easy to lecture, but in fact it's probably useful for students to
realise that we find things as hard as they do. We try to be a good
example not by "being good at things" but by "being willing to work at
things and try hard" even if they are difficult. I too get distracted by
Twitter and Facebook and the cats and dogs and having to wash the car and
doing family things and helping the lady next door when she runs out of
milk. I, too, want to stop work so I can watch TV instead. We're not
immune. So that means that we do indeed, to some extent (even though some
of us are so ancient) have at least some idea of what it's like being a
student. So our advice is informed by an understanding of at least some of
your reality. On the other hand, some student realities continue to
surprise me. Student: "Are all clouds formed the same way? I don't know
how to find out... help me!" Me: "Yes they are: try looking in a
meteorology book." Student: "A meteorology book? I hadn't thought of
that!!" Me: "...sigh...".
Suffering from the typical student problem of distractions and poor focus
I have done only part of one of the two big jobs that were on my plate for
the day, but have spent a lot longer than I intended dealing with little
things that kept cropping up. A student last week commented that lecturers
find it easy to lecture, but in fact it's probably useful for students to
realise that we find things as hard as they do. We try to be a good
example not by "being good at things" but by "being willing to work at
things and try hard" even if they are difficult. I too get distracted by
Twitter and Facebook and the cats and dogs and having to wash the car and
doing family things and helping the lady next door when she runs out of
milk. I, too, want to stop work so I can watch TV instead. We're not
immune. So that means that we do indeed, to some extent (even though some
of us are so ancient) have at least some idea of what it's like being a
student. So our advice is informed by an understanding of at least some of
your reality. On the other hand, some student realities continue to
surprise me. Student: "Are all clouds formed the same way? I don't know
how to find out... help me!" Me: "Yes they are: try looking in a
meteorology book." Student: "A meteorology book? I hadn't thought of
that!!" Me: "...sigh...".
Reflective student exercise: 27th Feb.
Long day at the open day today. Amongst other things the open day is a
good opportunity to speak to a different kind of audience: a bit younger
(the applicants) and a lot older (their parents etc) than the usual
student groups I mainly talk to. I ran a new “tutorial type”
Inspirational Landscapes demo teaching session for them today, and was
pleased that both the parents and even some of the applicants were brave
enough to speak up in “discussion”. It made me wonder again
what it is that happens to many students in that brief window while they
are students, to make them so reluctant! Perhaps students should be made
to take a 3-year gap between school and university, coming back when they
are ready to get the most out of it. On some TV show last night one
character complained about having to deal with a teenager:
“teenagers are slow witted” she said. Of course my students
are not at all slow witted, but certainly younger and older groups seem to
get much more visible satisfaction out of my “classes”. It was
great today when some bloke about my age came up after the Inspirational
Landscapes demo lecture and said that after just half an hour of Geography
he really looked at the world differently! We should bottle the stuff and
sell it on t’internet.
good opportunity to speak to a different kind of audience: a bit younger
(the applicants) and a lot older (their parents etc) than the usual
student groups I mainly talk to. I ran a new “tutorial type”
Inspirational Landscapes demo teaching session for them today, and was
pleased that both the parents and even some of the applicants were brave
enough to speak up in “discussion”. It made me wonder again
what it is that happens to many students in that brief window while they
are students, to make them so reluctant! Perhaps students should be made
to take a 3-year gap between school and university, coming back when they
are ready to get the most out of it. On some TV show last night one
character complained about having to deal with a teenager:
“teenagers are slow witted” she said. Of course my students
are not at all slow witted, but certainly younger and older groups seem to
get much more visible satisfaction out of my “classes”. It was
great today when some bloke about my age came up after the Inspirational
Landscapes demo lecture and said that after just half an hour of Geography
he really looked at the world differently! We should bottle the stuff and
sell it on t’internet.
Reflective diary exercise Feb 26
I've been very pleased to get diary updates from lots of students today,
and have enjoyed seeing their entries. It really gives me (and I hope
them, too) an insight into how they are approaching the course. Some seem
to be underestimating how much work they need to do to keep up with a
degree course, while others are engaging really well. As always it's a
mixed bag, and part of my job is work with each student according to their
needs. I've also been getting some input from 3rd-years on a different
discussion, and it's interesting to think how students change their views
(or not) as they go through the course. Some students really grow and open
up their attitudes as they work through the programme. Some don't, of
course, which I think is a real shame. What, after all, is the point of
University? I think I put a reasonable weight on that side of the
"teaching" but it's hard to get the right balance. I suspect I focus more
on the "big picture" than most of my colleagues do, but that might be
because of my particular perspective on Geography, teaching and
University. I remember I used to be very pleased sometimes when I
remembered all my qualifications and prizes because it reassured me that
my approach and opinions must have some merit! That's one reason it was
also nice to get the NTF a few years ago. I suppose I should also take it
as a reminder that saying "well done" to a student is as important as
saying "change this".
and have enjoyed seeing their entries. It really gives me (and I hope
them, too) an insight into how they are approaching the course. Some seem
to be underestimating how much work they need to do to keep up with a
degree course, while others are engaging really well. As always it's a
mixed bag, and part of my job is work with each student according to their
needs. I've also been getting some input from 3rd-years on a different
discussion, and it's interesting to think how students change their views
(or not) as they go through the course. Some students really grow and open
up their attitudes as they work through the programme. Some don't, of
course, which I think is a real shame. What, after all, is the point of
University? I think I put a reasonable weight on that side of the
"teaching" but it's hard to get the right balance. I suspect I focus more
on the "big picture" than most of my colleagues do, but that might be
because of my particular perspective on Geography, teaching and
University. I remember I used to be very pleased sometimes when I
remembered all my qualifications and prizes because it reassured me that
my approach and opinions must have some merit! That's one reason it was
also nice to get the NTF a few years ago. I suppose I should also take it
as a reminder that saying "well done" to a student is as important as
saying "change this".
"undergraduate" reflective exercise Feb 25
This is the first time I've run this particular exercise with students, and while I certainly think it has potential and could be really useful to them it also needs a few tweaks. For example, it's nice giving students total freedom to do it however they like (web, paper, VLE, etc) but now of course some are being highly visible and public while others are unseen and untrackable. It would be nice to have some degree of common sharing at this stage, so perhaps I should have at least defined a shared venue for postings, such as the VLE. Also, using the VLE would reduce the risk of students making public comments about my colleagues, which would be inappropriate I guess. The posts I've seen so far from the "public" students have been great, although they don't all seem to have understood what is meant by "reflective". Something to reflect on together in the next tutorial, perhaps.
Reflective: Thursday
My reflections on today's time at Keele focus largely on two of my colleagues, so on this occasion I think I'd better not do a public diary! I will wonder publicly, though, what students imagine the Dept is like 'behind the scenes'...
Reflective Diary project, 23rd Feb
One of my jobs today was to give a 1-hour "looking at landscape" session
to a visiting group of asylum sekers as part of Keele's
internationalisation program. There were many interesting comparisons
between "regular" students and this group, one of which was how polite the
visitors were today, and how nicely they all said hello as they arrived
and said thank you and good bye as they left. They clearly weren't taking
the session for granted as so many "regular" students seem to. I wonder if
students realise how much work goes into some of the sessions we give,
that they roll into half asleep, chatter through without making the effort
to join in with discussion time, and stroll out of, eyes to the floor,
without a word of recognition or appreciation. Not that I'm moaning or
anything. I'm just saying. It was nice to have a really polite and
interested group of "students" who really seemed to be enjoying what we
were doing. Why don't regular students come across that way?
to a visiting group of asylum sekers as part of Keele's
internationalisation program. There were many interesting comparisons
between "regular" students and this group, one of which was how polite the
visitors were today, and how nicely they all said hello as they arrived
and said thank you and good bye as they left. They clearly weren't taking
the session for granted as so many "regular" students seem to. I wonder if
students realise how much work goes into some of the sessions we give,
that they roll into half asleep, chatter through without making the effort
to join in with discussion time, and stroll out of, eyes to the floor,
without a word of recognition or appreciation. Not that I'm moaning or
anything. I'm just saying. It was nice to have a really polite and
interested group of "students" who really seemed to be enjoying what we
were doing. Why don't regular students come across that way?
student reflection exercise 22nd Feb
One of the best things and the worst things about my job is the
flexibiity. It's great that I could take today away from Keele to do some
nice not-work stuff, but on the other hand the flexibiity means that you
never "finish" your day's work just because the clock reaches a certain
point, and if you keep your e-mail running you find yourself getting
queries from students while you're eating your tea. Hmmm. Banana sandwich,
anyone? I make a lot of extra work formyself with some of the unusual
exercises I set for students. I really enjoy keeping up with WebCT
discussions, or with the reflective diaries of the students who are
posting them daily online just now, but if you count it as work then it
certainly adds in extra time when I'm not getting on with writing the talk
I have to give to a group of visitors tomorrow! Time management is
crucial, and becomes more important the more you have to do. Perhaps a
good way to teach students time management, rather than "explaining" it to
them, would be to quadruple their workload and give them two essays a
week. That's what we got when I was a student. When I was a lad... ...and
look how I turned out: yet again writing a talk the night before it's due
to be presented. D'oh! It's actually been a longrunning discussion since I
started teaching: throw them in at the deep end or let them in gradually.
Swinging pendulums, and I'm erring back towards the short sharp sit up and
grow up approach. I need some hyphens in there, but I need my banana
sandwich even more.
flexibiity. It's great that I could take today away from Keele to do some
nice not-work stuff, but on the other hand the flexibiity means that you
never "finish" your day's work just because the clock reaches a certain
point, and if you keep your e-mail running you find yourself getting
queries from students while you're eating your tea. Hmmm. Banana sandwich,
anyone? I make a lot of extra work formyself with some of the unusual
exercises I set for students. I really enjoy keeping up with WebCT
discussions, or with the reflective diaries of the students who are
posting them daily online just now, but if you count it as work then it
certainly adds in extra time when I'm not getting on with writing the talk
I have to give to a group of visitors tomorrow! Time management is
crucial, and becomes more important the more you have to do. Perhaps a
good way to teach students time management, rather than "explaining" it to
them, would be to quadruple their workload and give them two essays a
week. That's what we got when I was a student. When I was a lad... ...and
look how I turned out: yet again writing a talk the night before it's due
to be presented. D'oh! It's actually been a longrunning discussion since I
started teaching: throw them in at the deep end or let them in gradually.
Swinging pendulums, and I'm erring back towards the short sharp sit up and
grow up approach. I need some hyphens in there, but I need my banana
sandwich even more.
Reflective Diary for Tutorial Exercise 21st feb
I started today with a mountain of tasks and now here I am, half way
through it (or up it)! And the evening is yet young, hey ho. Unfortunately
one of today's tasks was telling a student that I was disappointed in him.
I wonder whether students believe me when I say I really want them to do well
or that I am disappointed when they let themselves (and me) down. Do they
understand how much lecturers can really want students to make the most of
the opportunity that they have here? I wrote a reference for a former
student today and was able to say how she had really lived up to the faith
we'd put in her: she worked hard, did well, and put her studies to good
use. You remember students like that. I'm still in touch with students
from when i first started teaching in 1987, and I still remember their
strengths (and weaknesses) as students, even though they have now grown
well past those and are in their 40s.
things that are actually bad for them. For example, students often say
things like "can you tell me which pages I should read?" when the whole
point of the exercise is for them to go through the experience of DECIDING
which pages to read. Sure, I can tell you, but then you miss the whole
point of being here. If you want an intellectually easy life and don't
want to do the work necessary to improve yourself, you might be better
advised to consider an alternative path! Somebody on Twitter last week asked "what makes a geographer?". A student
in their reflective blog this week said how they were increasingly seeing
geography all around them. So, I'm thinking that what makes a geographer
is seeing the geography around you, and not being able to stop thinking
geography! 2nd-yr prac went quite well today... students seemed to be getting
something out of it. Must catch one and squeeze feedback from them.
