By Omar Badessi, Ph.D. Language Instructor Department of Hispanic Languages and Literature
As an educator and music enthusiast, I firmly believe in harnessing the transformative power of music to cultivate inclusive learning environments both within the classroom and beyond (Harwood, 2010). Music, with its universal language, serves as a bridge connecting students from diverse backgrounds while also fostering empathy, understanding, and collaboration.
There are many ways that music can contribute to the learning experience.
Embracing a Global Soundscape
My approach to incorporating music into the classroom begins with immersing students in the rich tapestry of global musical traditions. Utilizing music platforms and recordings, I introduce students to a diverse array of Spanish and Arabic genres and instruments from North Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond. Through listening sessions and open discussions about the lyrics and context of the songs, students explore the origins, instrumentation, and cultural significance of various musical expressions. This not only sparks curiosity but also cultivates cultural appreciation and encourages dialogue about our shared humanity amidst diverse musical landscapes (National Association for Music Education, 2023).
Celebrating Student Identities
Moving beyond passive engagement, I invite students to share music from their own cultural backgrounds. Whether it’s through presentations like “Ventana Cultural” (cultural windows), Karaoke Nights activities, sharing hobbies and passions through the “Amigos de Omar أصدقاء عمر“ newsletter, or participating in live performances such as “A Star is Born,” students are encouraged to express themselves musically while celebrating their unique cultural identities. These experiences promote empathy, understanding, and active participation in shaping the classroom’s cultural tapestry (Edwards, 2022).
Music can help us to learn about other cultures, serve as a powerful tool for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and more.
Music for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Moreover, music serves as a powerful tool for social-emotional learning (SEL). Collaborative songwriting activities centered on themes like empathy and understanding allow students to express themselves creatively while honing essential social and emotional skills. Through shared musical experiences, students develop communication skills, emotional intelligence, and a sense of belonging within the classroom community (The Journal of Music Therapy, 2021).
Music as a Bridge for Collaboration
Outside of class, musical rehearsals or live performances are a great opportunity for different people to connect and collaborate with each other.. These activities promote teamwork, cultural exploration, and a deeper appreciation for diverse musical heritages (Higgins & Jones, 2020). Personally, I cherish memories of collaborating with musicians from various cultural backgrounds at Stony Brook University, like playing the drums for the cross-cultural ensemble Lost in Staller, which mixed classic and funky-Afro beats while exploring jazz tension between composition and improvisation. Here is arecordingof a Spanglish performance: Besame con frenesí.
The Stony Brook Broadway Orchestra (SBBO) further exemplifies the power of music to unite students from diverse cultural backgrounds. Each final show, supported by families and friends, showcases the talents of our community. Shows such as Annie Get your Gun, The Addams Family, or Big Fish, leave lasting impressions and fond memories. Check out our rendition of The Lightning Thief.
In conclusion, music serves as a catalyst for cultural understanding, emotional exploration, and collaborative learning. By integrating diverse musical experiences into the classroom, educators create vibrant and inclusive environments where every student’s voice is valued and celebrated. Music becomes more than just a subject—it becomes a vehicle for enriching the educational journey for all.
References:
Edwards, M. R. (2022). *Building inclusive music classrooms: A guide for general music teachers*. Oxford University Press.
Harwood, J. (2010). “The Power of Song: The Cultural and Pedagogical Functions of Song in the EFL Classroom.” Tesol Quarterly, 44(4), 617-640.
Higgins, L., & Jones, E. (2020). *Inclusive musical practice in education: Embracing all learners*. Routledge.
National Association for Music Education. (2023). *Music & social justice: Educators guide*.
The Journal of Music Therapy. (2021). *The power of music in inclusive education*, 58(2), 123-142.
By Yiren Kong Educational Research & Grant Development Specialist yiren.kong@stonybrook.edu
Virtual reality (VR), characterized by its immersive experiences and interactive capabilities within virtual environments, has the ability to enhance educational experiences. The unique characteristics of VR and the availability of low-budget VR headsets in recent years signal great potential in using VR as a learning tool on a large(r) scale to help students learn effectively. Additionally, the growing popularity of VR in everyday lives speaks to a need to provide opportunities for students to familiarize themselves with VR at school.
Inspired by and building upon these premises, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at Stony Brook University has held a series of hands-on VR workshops over the past year to showcase the possibilities of using VR in higher education classrooms as an alternative learning option. This series of professional development events have been well received by faculty and staff members across both east and west campuses. Many have expressed interest in continuing the conversation with us and exploring feasible ways to integrate VR into their classrooms. Reflections on these events and discussions with different stakeholders has revealed the importance of helping faculty and staff members to have a deeper and more comprehensive grasp of VR, which could help them in make an informed decision about whether and how they will use VR as an optional learning tool to facilitate their students’ learning experiences.
Our VR studio is a great space for those looking to learn more about VR/AR in the classroom.
In order to familiarize faculty and staff members with VR as an effective learning option, CELT has made multiple efforts. In addition to offering workshops and collaborating with interested faculty members on research and grant projects centered around the theme of VR, CELT also just soft-launched a VR studio in Harriman Hall after working on the space for more than half a year. This VR studio serves as a collaborative space for faculty members to work closely with experienced instructional designers and educational researchers at CELT to develop VR learning activities.
The CELT VR studio features two VR stations which present two very different VR solutions and experiences. The first station is powered by an HTC VIVE and a gaming PC which is capable of providing a highly visual and immersive experience. The second station features a Meta Quest 2, which is an all-in-one headset that offers affordability, convenience, and accessibility. Different from the HTC VIVE, Meta Quest 2 does not need to be connected with a computer at all and can run VR applications by itself. Besides, the price for a Meta Quest 2 is much lower than an HTC VIVE, at the cost of lower graphic quality and performance.
Headsets such as the Meta Quest series have made VR more accessible to those who are interested.
Empirical research has pointed out that VR, when being used appropriately in a suitable learning environment, could help with both learning experience and outcomes. Moreover, integrating VR in classrooms could help mitigate digital divide and enable upward social mobility for underrepresented students in this digital age. If you are interested in developing a VR learning activity and try out in your classroom, or if you just simply want to learn more about VR, feel free to come and work with us in the newly launched CELT VR studio (appointment needed).
By Luis Colon Instructional Designer luis.colon@stonybrook.edu
Last month, members of CELT traveled to Buffalo, New York to attend the SUNY Conference on Instructional Technology (CIT) hosted by the University at Buffalo to participate in the event as well as present some of the work that we have been doing. The CIT conference started in 1992 and since has provided faculty and instructional support professionals a space to share their experiences, delve into common issues, work towards finding solutions, and explore the many innovative avenues that allow instructors to enhance the learning environment through the use of technology.
The theme of this year’s conference was: Creating Inclusive Innovation in Higher Education, and showcased engaging sessions from faculty and instructional support professionals focusing on topics such as course design, assessment strategies, artificial intelligence (AI), immersive technologies, and more. In addition to these sessions, there were also exhibits from sponsors including D2L, Lumen Learning, and Respondus, as well as other exhibitors showcasing products and other technologies that could be used in the classroom to enhance the learning experience as well as increase engagement.
The University at Buffalo was a great location for this year’s CIT 2024 conference.
During the conference, we presented at two different sessions. Our first session, Critical Conversation on Generative AI, focused on our response to the boom of AI tools to support teaching and learning in college classes at Stony Brook University. The session opened with the CELT AI Timeline, illustrating how CELT started with collaborations with the academic integrity office. CELT proactively communicated to the SBU faculty about the best practices on generative AI in their classrooms and provided ongoing support and training sessions. We stay abreast on the latest AI tools and explore the benefits, challenges, and potential use cases with interested faculty members at Stony Brook University. During the past one-and-a-half-year period, CELT hosted 22 AI events with 1,110 Attendees. The AI panel discussion series covers topics like academic integrity, AI best practices, AI ethics, student perspectives, creative AI in art education, AI, and research. Monthly AI talk sessions allow faculty to ask questions and share their experience. Generative AI in Higher Education workshop series focuses on AI tools training, AI guidelines, assessment redesign, and ethical and practical AI usage for teaching and learning.
Ultimately, as AI tools continued to develop and become more capable it became clear that we would need to expand our offerings to meet the needs and demands of interested stakeholders which we have done over the past year.
During the second half of the session, we opened up the floor to respond to questions for the audience to join the discussion and share their thoughts. The audience shared both valuable insights and ideas regarding AI usage as well as valid concerns regarding the capabilities and rapid growth of the technology. We shared resources at the end of the session and were able to speak to some of the audience members who had additional questions or were interested in continuing the conversation.
Our second session, Exploring VR Applications in College Classes – An SBU Showcase, focused on the applications of virtual reality (VR) of faculty members at Stony Brook University. They explored the capabilities of these types of tools and how they can fit into their course goals and enhance their overall instruction. We began by discussing how the effective utilization of VR can positively impact teaching and learning and discussed specific tools that provide diverse experiences in VR that can be incorporated into any course. This included 360° photo and video, WebXR tools such as FrameVR, and immersive VR tools used in simulation-based learning. We then discussed our collaborations with faculty and staff members at the university and how they are currently using or planning to utilize VR in their courses. This included the work of Mark Lang from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (SoMAS), Dr. Guleed Ali from the Department of Geosciences, Dr. Carol Carter from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Dr. Gary Marr from the Department of Philosophy in collaboration with Paul St. Dennis from the Department of Information Technology (DoIT). Then Dr. Guleed Ali presented via Zoom on VR virtual field trips as an inclusive pedagogy strategy in his Geoscience class.
The second part of our session was a hands-on immersive showcase, audience members could try on some of the VR applications we discussed. We set up three stations with Meta Quest headsets where audience members could see firsthand the diverse use cases of VR technology in the higher ed learning environment and familiarize themselves with working in VR. This also allowed us the opportunity to speak with audience members about their experiences with VR in the classroom, how they may be using VR in innovative and exciting new ways, and how they would like to be using VR in the classroom in the future.
CIT2024 was a great opportunity to gather insights and explore technology in teaching and learning!
The experience of attending and presenting sessions at CIT in Buffalo this year was an exciting and informative experience for our team. It was great to network and collaborate with other colleagues in teaching and learning more about the future of technology in our discipline. Our team returned with many great ideas and approaches that we are excited to implement in our own work.
By Luis Colon
Instructional Designer
luis.colon@stonybrook.edu
On April 12th, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching held their annual Teaching and Learning Symposium. Over the years, the event has allowed educators, researchers, administrators, and more to come together to discuss various aspects of teaching and learning as well as celebrate teaching and learning practices and initiatives at Stony Brook University. The central theme of the day was Innovative Pedagogy which was at the center of conversations and various learning experiences held throughout the day. The theme illustrates the importance of finding new and exciting ways to engage with and include students in the academic environment as well as empowering students to pursue lifelong learning. Close to 100 faculty members, graduate students, staff, and administrators attended the day-long event held in Ballroom A of the Student Activities Center.
The event opened with words from Dr. Carl Lejuez, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, and then led into the keynote event of the day. Dr. Marsha Lovett presented an interactive workshop on innovative teaching and how practice and feedback can be an impactful practice in the classroom. Dr. Lovett is the Vice Provost for Teaching & Learning Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University as well as a Teaching Professor of Psychology and former director of the Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation. Her passion for combining teaching and research is illustrated in the book How Learning Works, which has been translated into multiple languages and is now in its second edition with the new subtitle: How Learning Works: Eight Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.
Dr. Marsha Lovett delivered an informative and engaging keynote workshop.
The workshop focused on the importance of incorporating opportunities for students to engage in “deliberate practice” where they are challenged appropriately and focus on clear and specific goals. These opportunities allow for observed performance where students would be able to receive targeted feedback that they would be able to use to improve their skills and apply in further practice. To provide targeted feedback, Dr. Lovett recommended incorporating rubrics into assignments as a grading tool where criteria for success is outlined and to remind students to utilize the rubric before, during, and after working on the assignment.
To address the concern of allowing students to practice often without having a huge amount of grading, Dr. Lovett suggested incorporating opportunities for students to engage in active learning. She touched on many different examples of active learning strategies from shorter tasks to whole-class activities which provide students the opportunity to not only practice applying important skills but also allows students to receive feedback through the explanations of concepts and discussions that spark from active learning in the classroom.
Dr. Lovett closed with a discussion on how to provide effective SPACE (Specific, Prioritized, Actionable, Constructive, Expedient) feedback in a manner that is not only easy but also efficient and applicable to courses of all types and sizes. Her suggestions included framing your feedback in relation to your overall learning goals, highlighting priorities in the work, providing class-wide feedback on common pitfalls and errors, and developing a “key” or collection of frequently used comments to use during grading.
Following the keynote session were breakout sessions where Stony Brook University faculty and staff delivered sessions focusing on four different tracks highlighting major topics in teaching and learning today including Course Design, Student Engagement, Virtual Experiences, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). There were three breakout sessions where attendants had the opportunity to either stick to one particular track or attend sessions on different topics of interest. Faculty presenters from across both campuses discussed practical approaches and strategies to implement in classes and recounted their own observations with these innovative teaching practices.
Faculty and staff participated in learning sessions and activities throughout the all-day event.
The 2024 Teaching and Learning Symposium was an exciting event that provided an open forum for faculty, TAs, and staff to engage in discourse related to teaching and learning with their colleagues. From using generative AI as a “junk generator” and having students critique its outputs to effective practices to foster inclusivity in the classroom environment, this event addressed many facets of teaching and learning to help students feel welcomed, engaged, and appropriately challenged in their coursework and overall experience at Stony Brook University.
If you would like to learn more about how to make your courses effective, engaging, relevant, and inclusive, you can purchase a copy of How Learning Works: Eight Research-Based Principles for Smart Teachingby Dr. Marsha Lovettat this Amazon link. Linked below is the Google Collaborative Note-Taking Document from the day’s events to catch up with session materials and notes from the various sessions offered.
By Shyam Sharma Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director Program in Writing and Rhetoric shyam.sharma@stonybrook.edu
Last year, students in my WRT 102 class systematically explored how AI chatbots can help them as writers–that is, if they learn how to use the tools effectively and responsibly. By breaking down the process of writing a research-based paper into a step-by-step process, my students asked ChatGPT to assist them with a few dozen different tasks related to those steps. The result has so far been fascinatingly mixed.
Unfortunately, most faculty across campus do not have the luxury of time (i.e., small class), teaching experience/expertise (in some cases), or the curricular space that writing teachers do in order to engage their students in the research and writing processes with the assistance of AI or not.With these challenges in mind, the following are some strategies that can be helpful to colleagues across campus:
Time
The first challenge, lack of time, is most significant for faculty teaching larger classes. Natural language processing tools can be a convenient way to reduce time and labor that writing-intensive assignments require from instructors. Unfortunately, this convenience comes with a number of risks, including plagiarism and the bypassing of learning/skill development. Consequently, all instructors who assign writing might also have to allocate some time on writing instruction as well as time to help students use the new tools effectively and responsibly.
Finding ways to effectively incorporate AI into assignments can be a time consuming process.
Adopting the “writing to learn” (WTL) approach (rather than just “learning to write”) can justify the investment of some time for teaching writing, as it helps students “discover” ideas and perspectives, “create” connections and structures, and “interpret” text or the real world around them. If writing needs to mediate learning, then it must be seen as more than merely a means for encoding pre-existing ideas in words; it calls for assisting students in the process, including for using AI tools productively and responsibly.
With some scaffolding/support and the right approach, even a small amount of time to help students use AI tools meaningfully can greatly help to harness the power of writing as a means for learning, fostering disciplinary identity, and preparing for professional careers. Below I share a range of strategies to optimize whatever little time faculty can invest.
Trust
Trust is the second challenge when individualized attention is not feasible, and AI tools can complicate this even further. I started my teaching experiments with AI using a simple rule–“cite what you use”–but even in a small class, that simple rule didn’t survive the complexity of how students use the tools. Students used chatbots in too many ways in the process and couldn’t just cite specific words or ideas!
My experience so far is that the only thing we can do is to develop trust in our students, as we help them develop their own “brain muscles” for research and writing skills, with or without using AI tools. AI tools are making academic integrity issues too complex to address through any technologies or policies. With that said, they can also enhance writing if used effectively and responsibly.
Trust between students and instructors is an important part of teaching students how to use AI in a beneficial and productive manner.
In place of doubt and distrust, we must teach our students where to draw the line for themselves. We can no longer just specify “requirements” like page or word count, topic or method specifications, number of citations or strategies of source engagement, etc. We should help students understand and achieve the goals of the assignment by using appropriate tools and resources. We should help students answer their own educational questions: Why am I in this course? What skills will I develop if I invest adequate time and effort–including with AI assistance?
Broadly put, educators are bound to shift focus from policing plagiarism to bolstering originality, from requirements to commitment toward learning, from fear to interest, from policy statements to support, from challenge to confidence, from moralizing to motivating. Students can best decide when and how to use AI tools if they possess sufficient skills and confidence and are inspired enough to take on the challenges of learning.
Teaching
Beyond allocating some time and shifting focus toward trust building, faculty across the disciplines need new teaching strategies to mitigate the challenges posed by AI tools. That requires first educating students what “writing” means in the context of learning and in relation to AI.
Some students ask: Could we soon be just asking AI to do all our writing? This question views writing as a product, ignoring that the use of a text generator in the process of learning is fundamentally different from a businessperson using it to cut costs, a father using it to make lasagna, or a freelance journalist using it to speed up writing. Unlike other users, students must use writing to develop their own brain muscles for researching and reading, summarizing and synthesizing, citing and engaging sources, developing and defending an intellectual position, organizing and creating flow in her ideas, and so on–with and without using AI tools as they become more and more a part of our world. Simply asking a chatbot to “do” these things for us is more like asking for the answer to all math problems and less like using a calculator to better handle the more complex ones.
Professors should also identify and address distinct challenges posed by AI use in writing processes in different disciplines and professions, from the ethical in medicine to the legal in engineering to the financial in business. Creating and using machine-generating language requires more layers of responsibilities for “languaging” than we have always known. This calls for some teaching of “critical AI literacy” skills–including technical skills, rhetorical savvy, and political and ethical considerations.
It is important that students understand not only the “what” regarding any assignment but the importance of “why” it is important as well.
To summarize, a little time, a focus on trust, and a few teaching strategies could turn a menace into a meaningful resource. From their explorations so far, my students have created a list of tasks that ChatGPT can (potentially) assist them write better, faster, etc–that is, if they have the skills and invest the time to make that assistance meaningful: finds sources**, suggest new ideas or perspectives*, help to brainstorm or start writing*, jog memory on a topic, find/generate basic knowledge about a topic**, outline a paper*, write up thesis statements and topic sentences*, elaborate topic sentences or citation*, tighten and otherwise revise draft*, recognize rhetorical strategies in samples, change style of draft such as by reducing jargons, give feedback or critique on draft*, edit for clarity and correctness, etc. In the list above, to represent the cautions my students say are necessary, I’ve used two asterisks where they’ve flagged it for unreliability (such as making up sources and facts) and one asterisk for other kinds of problems.
I must also add that my class has found that ChatGPT isn’t very reliable even with papers based on library and internet research–not to mention papers that are lab-based or fieldwork-based, creative or contextual, culturally informed or sensitive. And yet, where there is instructional support and seriousness on the part of student writers, the tool becomes more and more useful. Hence the need for some time and trust. In contrast, instructors who simply assign essays and wait for the deadline are going to receive papers, paragraphs, or paraphrases based on chatbots from many students.
With the three major challenges above in mind, as well as the cautions, I would like to share a class handout that I created for AI-assisted writing instruction for a research-based paper. Please adapt any part of it as it best serves the needs of your courses and assignments in your disciplines and contexts. The handout can be found at the link below.
As a creative writing and literature teacher, I find myself in a unique position, having grown up in India and now teaching undergraduate students at Stony Brook University. My first language, Hindi, gifts me with a strong Indian accent when I speak English, and I fear that my words may be misunderstood by my students. At times, I worry that some students may wonder why an Indian woman is teaching Creative Writing & Literature in English. To address these concerns, I’ve designed a more inclusive syllabus that features stories and essays from writers of different countries, races, and backgrounds. My course, “Everyone has a story, let’s find yours,” helps students explore their voice through writing and tell their important stories. In class, we read stories from all over the world, including translated texts. Over time, I’ve realized that good stories don’t need to be written in a specific language to be considered good. The best stories transcend language and vocabulary limitations.
Students used MuBaBaO blocks to build and brainstorm their ideas for their stories.
In our class discussions about Arundhati Roy’s essay, “What is the morally appropriate language to think & write?” my students have diverse opinions. They often relate to the idea that we’re not always understood by even people who speak the same language as us. Surprisingly, about a quarter of the class is multilingual. They’re amazed when I share that the language of storytelling is not as crucial as evoking universal emotions and interest.
To overcome language barriers in storytelling, I introduced wooden blocks from MuBaBaO into our creative journey. Originating from Poland, these wooden blocks, also known as creative thinking blocks, were brought to us by the distinguished storyteller Michal Malinowski, who uses them in his own classroom while teaching undergraduate students at the University of Krakow. Prior to that, Michal employed these blocks with war refugees from Ukraine, who found it easier to articulate their experiences using building blocks rather than struggling with broken words and sentences. In Michal’s own words, ‘the blocks serve as a vehicle for storytelling, an instrument to make sense out of the chaos and create something out of nothing.’
When used in my class, the blocks sparked my students’ imagination. They built intricate structures like spaceships, bicycles, basketball courts, carriages, and houses. Each creation had a unique story behind it, reflecting the individuality of its creator. Even reserved students opened up and shared their creations. This exercise went beyond storytelling; it became a form of problem-solving and an exercise in critical thinking and communication. It reminded me that stories have historically been a way to address complex challenges. What’s remarkable is the impact these blocks have beyond the classroom. They create a means for interaction and collaborative artwork within the community.
MuBaBaO blocks helped students think creatively and solve problems during the writing process.
Exploratory studies with similar blocks showed that they can help learners understand course concepts, experience group dynamics, and build communication skills (Allen et al., 2009, Auvinen et al., 2013, Rick et al., 2005, Roos et al., 2004, Roos et al., 2018, Peabody et al., 2018). This visual approach to storytelling engages participants in dynamic and multi-layered exercises, fostering creative thinking, spatial intelligence, and effective communication. It adds depth by requiring participants to narrate a story related to their creation, including considering solutions to real-world challenges. These blocks can act as a universal language, uniting people from diverse backgrounds through the shared language of imagination and expression. They can also be applied in various fields to enhance organizational and leadership skills. Together, we can embark on a journey of discovery and growth, learning to appreciate the depth and power of storytelling beyond spoken words, and embracing the beauty of diverse voices in literature.
References:
Allen, S. J. and Hartman, N. S. (2009), “Sources of learning in student leadership development programming”, Journal of Leadership Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 6-16. https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.20119
Auvinen, T., Aaltio, I. and Blomqvist, K. (2013), “Constructing leadership by storytelling- the meaning of trust and narrative”, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, Vol. 34, No. 6, pp. 496-514. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-10-2011-0102
Rick, J., & Lamberty, K. K. (2005). Medium-based design: Extending a medium to create an exploratory learning environment. Interactive Learning Environments, 13(3), 179–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820500401883
Roos, J., & Victor, B. (2018). How It All Began: The Origins Of LEGO® Serious Play®. International Journal of Management and Applied Research, 326–343. https://doi.org/10.18646/2056.54.18-025
Peabody, M. A., & Turesky, E. F. (2018). Shared leadership lessons: Adapting LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® in higher education. International Journal of Management and Applied Research, 5(4), 210-223.
As you start to think about next steps in your academic and/or professional career, you may find that you will be asked to either write or revise a teaching statement or a statement of teaching philosophy. A teaching statement, or statement of teaching philosophy, is a reflective essay that often includes what you value as an educator and why this is important to you, a description of how you would teach, the justification for why you teach that way, and evidence of how you have been effective.
Teaching statements are more common these days and have become a largely important part of academic life.
The first time writing a statement like this can be a bit daunting, confusing, and often leads to questions on how to write an effective statement. Here are some questions I often hear:
What if I don’t have much teaching experience?
You probably have more than you think. Informal teaching experiences can also inform your statement. Some examples include training students in your lab (protocols, data analysis, etc.), summer students, mentoring student assistants in work environments, working with Undergraduate Teaching Assistants (UGTAs), or participating in teaching professional development, such as CELT workshops. If you have been a graduate TA, can your course director give you some feedback on your teaching? Can you guest lecture in the course your PI or a colleague teaches? In absence of any of the above, you should show that you have thought intentionally about what you value as an educator, how you would achieve this in the classroom, and how you would tell you were effective.
How do I stand out from other applicants in the statement?
Hook your readers right at the start. Your opening sentence should be strong and reflect personal experiences that have made a large impact on your philosophy. Avoid cliche terms and academic jargon to engage your readers. Instead, focus on how you can not only “tell” your reader about your experiences but “show” them by bringing specific stories from your teaching experiences into your writing. Ultimately, an honest account of your experiences and passion towards your work in the field is going to be more impactful to your audience than a general statement.
Are detailed technical approaches in the classroom required in the statement?
The more specific you can be with examples and evidence, the stronger your statement will be. Different positions will weigh the teaching statement differently, such as research intensive vs. teaching intensive, but either way, the more specific details about your experiences that you can include in your statement the better. Your examples should be concise, however, as there is typically a 2-page limit for the statement. If you are applying for a teaching focused position, citing the learning sciences literature the same way you would in your research is recommended.
Should I include DEI elements in my teaching statement?
If you and the institution you are applying to similarly value DEI then yes, include specific elements of inclusive teaching in your statement. You may also be asked to write a separate diversity statement which would rely less on teaching and more on your lived experiences, mentoring, and community engagement. You don’t want the specific examples in the statements to overlap.
Can I incorporate positive comments received about my teaching in the statement?
Yes! You would not want this to take up a lot of text in your statement, so use sparingly and concisely, and be sure they speak to specific skills and successes that you have been recognized for (not: “they were a great teacher!”). This is another great way to incorporate evidence of your teaching effectiveness in your statement.
When your personal statement is relevant and authentic, it communicates the passion that you have for the work in your field clearly and confidently. Personal writing can be difficult but following the guidance from these common questions when writing your statement can put you in a great position to write an impactful statement!
Have you ever noticed a difference in how you speak around your colleagues compared to how you speak with your friends and family? It’s likely that you unconsciously adjust your speech to fit professional settings, such as using more formal language and being more measured in your tone. Additionally, if you come from a place with a regional dialect, you may also adapt your speech based on the social context. For example, you may speak with a different accent or use different words or phrases depending on who you’re talking to.
Coming to campus can mean choosing new ways to speak and dress in order to fit in. Social scientists call that code-switching.
I find myself having to switch between dialects and slang when talking to professors on campus versus friends back home versus traditional family settings. As I spent my undergraduate career at Stony Brook, I naturally found myself changing tone and sentence structure to fit into the classroom setting better, especially in STEM courses. This is something that I didn’t consider in high school as everyone around me was familiar with regional slang words.
Linguists refer to this phenomenon as code-switching, which originally meant switching between two languages in a conversation (Gardner-Chloros, 2009). However, in today’s increasingly multicultural and multiethnic society, the term has evolved to describe how people shift between different cultures as they communicate with others. This can include choosing different communication styles, such as using different languages, adjusting your accent or tone, or adapting your behavior and dress.
There are many reasons why people use code-switching. Sometimes, it’s to fit in with a particular group or to convey thoughts and concepts that might be easier to explain in a specific language or communication style. Other times, it’s simply a force of habit or a way of expressing one’s cultural identity. However, the most common reason for code-switching is to identify with a particular social group, and most of the time, people don’t even realize they’re doing it (Myers‐Scotton, 2017). Code-switching happens subtly, and it’s not limited to bilingual speakers.
For example, when you leave your hometown for college, you may find yourself in a new cultural environment where you must navigate unfamiliar social structures while retaining your identity. This can involve cultural code-switching, which can include multiple aspects of one’s cultural identity, such as the type of clothing worn, hair style, speech, or behavior (Martin-Jones, 1995). Unfortunately, those from Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities are more likely than their non-Hispanic White counterparts to say they feel the need to code-switch. A study found that 4 in 10 Black and Hispanic adults often feel the need to change the way they talk around others of different races and ethnicities, especially among non-Hispanic Whites. Additionally, 48% of Black professionals under age 50 see code-switching as a career necessity (McCluney, et al., 2021).
Expertly navigating another culture isn’t a rejection of where you come from or a signal that you are any less authentic. Especially in the American culture that too often demands assimilation or marginalization, it matters that academic and corporate spaces are embracing people of all backgrounds. If it isn’t intentionally inclusive, it is unintentionally excluding. Therefore, flexibility and awareness is necessary in these circles to make sure everyone feels heard and empowered. Those that are in the majority have less code-switching and less adaptation required when in these settings, so it is important to bring awareness to the issue.
References:
Gardner-Chloros, P. (2009). Code-switching. Cambridge University Press.
Martin-Jones, M. (1995). Code-switching in the classroom: Two decades of research. One speaker, two languages: Cross-disciplinary perspectives on code-switching, 90-111.
By Devon Coutts Ph.D. Candidate, Philosophy Devon.coutts@stonybrook.edu
It can be especially difficult for university faculty members to develop effective teaching skills. While we all invest a great deal of time and energy in learning our respective disciplines, many, if not most, of us are not given any kind of guidance for how to pass on learning to our students. Perhaps surprisingly, such guidance need not come from traditional educational theory; there is a lot we can learn about teaching from the performing arts.
What can educators learn from actors who portray a role, a scene, or a concept to an audience?
That was certainly the case for me when I taught a class for the first time. I approached preparing my classes the way I would have approached preparing for a performance. I wrote out detailed scripts for myself and rehearsed giving lectures. I included “stage notes” for myself to indicate slide transitions, points of emphasis, the questions I planned on asking the students, and the questions that I anticipated students would ask me as we went along. While this method of preparation helped me to feel more confident going into the classroom, it was rare that a class ever played out exactly the way that I had envisioned it. This is because I assumed that my students would be a model audience, when in fact, I should have been thinking about them as my fellow actors. In my experience, the most effective and engaging classes were the ones in which students took an active role in guiding the lesson: where they asked questions, responded to one another, and made new connections within and beyond our course readings.
Comparisons between teaching and the performing arts have been around since at least the 1960’s. In his 1968 article, “Qualitative intelligence and the act of teaching,” Elliot W. Eisner writes, “Teachers, like actors, attempt to communicate to groups of people in an audience-like situation . . . both the actor and the teacher employ qualities to enhance communication [and] must be able to control their actions in such a way as to capture the attention and interest of those to whom their message is directed.” In other words, for both teachers and actors, the mode of delivery is as important as the content being expressed. Although the goals of acting and teaching differ greatly, both employ similar means toward achieving them.
For instance, one professor, Aaron Langille, who teaches in mathematics and computer science at Laurentian University, shared six strategies that he uses in his classroom teaching:
Voice dynamics: Practice projecting techniques, and varying tone and intonation to convey enthusiasm.
Eye contact: Rather than reading from notes or slides, this helps you to connect with your students.
Audience involvement: Build in ways of inviting students to share their ideas or generate their own examples in every class.
Pop culture: Try to bring in relevant examples, either by asking students directly or by giving them ways to bring what’s important or interesting to them to class discussions. For example, Langille creates meme threads for students to post memes relevant to the course material.
Humor: Remember to tread with caution when it comes to humor: keep things light, try to avoid excessive sarcasm, and always be willing to laugh at yourself.
Improvisation: Try the “yes, and . . .” strategy, remember to go with the flow, stay flexible and open to surprises or new avenues of thinking that may pop up.
Langille reported that by working on his vocal dynamics and improvisation in particular, he was able to communicate his course material more effectively and with genuine enthusiasm. Bringing these certain performance elements into his teaching thus also helped him show care and concern for his students as learners, which in turn invited them to become “actors” guiding their own learning.
Some professors take the “teaching as performance” idea even further. As Noha Fikry writes in this first person article published on the website for the Society for Cultural Anthropology. Fikry quotes her former professor from the American University of Cairo, AbdelAziz EzzelArab (“Zizo”), who says: “Teaching is all about performance . . . it takes passion and performance skills.” For her mentor, Zizo, teaching “requires an active engagement with every muscle of your body, along with full and undivided attention through which a teacher plays with and builds on student engagements to inform class content and discussions.” The actual content of the lessons, for Zizo, take on secondary importance, but his dedication to his students seems to ensure that learning does not suffer as a result. Reflecting on her own experience of being Zizo’s student, Fikry writes, “Zizo’s intense passion, overwhelming presence, and wholesome engagement in class . . . captivated my entire being to remain fully focused.”
It might not be possible for all of us to embody our teaching as fully as Zizo, but we can all benefit from incorporating certain performance techniques in the classroom. Even something as simple as making eye contact, rather than reading from notes, and trying out variations in tone and pace while giving a lecture can make a huge difference to how students respond to the material, the instructor, and to one another. What is more, bringing in techniques of improvisation helps to make space for students to become like actors themselves, and to take an active role in guiding their own learning.
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