Thank you to a kind sponsorship by the organizers, I spent today attending sessions at the Spirit of Inquiry conference. Sadly, I missed the welcome and morning key note – which I was told was riveting. Sessions are 1 hour long, with only one presentation – which leaves plenty of time for interaction, which is really what it is all about. Interestingly, most sessions are actually interactive workshops, which made me a bit uncomfortable – since most of the attendees were seasoned teachers. I attended an interesting session today on Narrative Pedagogy (abstract below). This is my first ‘Education’ conference – I decided that if I really do plan on teaching (at the university level) as a career, I should learn about the art of teaching (especially since I am such a mental and physical wreck when I have to talk in front of a group). When it was my turn to “share” I started with my usual disclaimer that I loathe speaking in public, yet am trying to learn to deal with it. The group was incredibly receptive, and I even had several people approach me throughout the day who were in that session, offering to help me work through my fears – fostering connections indeed =)
Critical Inclusion: Fostering Connections through Narrative Pedagogy
KARINA LEONARD, EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT IN INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, DAWSON COLLEGE
Abstract Although our students come from vastly different backgrounds, we tend to teach them all as we were taught: by lecturing. In doing so, we reinforce students’ sense of disconnection between course content and ‘real life’. In response to traditional pedagogies, narrative pedagogy attempts to personalize content and to create meaningful and pertinent connections between students’ lived experiences and course outcomes. Narrative dagogy implies both method and content. As such, this session offers both new and experienced educators a discussion of narrative pedagogy in the context of exploring our own experiences. Participants will come away from this session with an understanding of how to use student experience to create connections, develop content and further engage students. Participants are encouraged to come prepared to share their experiences and will be asked to engage with the experiences of other participants.
kellyboudreauphd.ca 