Transforming Our Lives through Self Reflection and Psychology
A psychology professor's collection of lessons fostering self-discovery through online activities, hands-on classroom experiences, engaging lectures, and effective discussion prompts.
Empirical studies, personal reflection essays, and topic-focused articles hopefully helping us teach and learn.
Teaching has been a passion of mine since I was a kid tutoring my friends, to becoming a K-12 teacher, and today as a college professor. I discovered over years while rules we learn in teacher training can be helpful, they're not set in stone. Sometimes what's 'supposed' to work, doesn't always, so I began studying learning empirically. My hero, Mister Rogers, experienced a similar revelation during his own journey creating Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. As a seminary student, he'd visit churches to learn from experienced preachers. Once he saw a substitute preacher who didn't impress him. Fred's mind raced through a list of mistakes and missed opportunities. Ready to share his critique, he looked to his friend and saw her with tears streaming down her face. "He said exactly what I needed to hear." Fred realized she came seeking help, while he came with judgment. What makes us powerful educators isn't following rules expertly, but connecting with our students' hearts. While I know rules and research, I try to teach from my intuition, and I try writing personal reflections to maybe help others find their own art in their classrooms too.
My Hero, Fred Rogers
The anecdote I mention comes from Amy Hollingsworth's conversations with Mister Rogers in her book, The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers.
“
I'm trying to tell you something 'bout my life; Maybe give me insight between black and white; And the best thing you ever done for me; Is to help me take my life less seriously ...; Well, darkness has a hunger that's insatiable; And lightness has a call that's hard to hear; And I wrap my fear around me like a blanket; I sailed my ship of safety till I sank it ...
Indigo Girls, Closer to Fine
Category within Class
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Among the many materials are pedagogical research (labelled 🍎), personal essays I wrote reflecting about teaching (✒️), and reference documents (📖) like handouts and how to guides. I hope some materials help you!