(Ellen Watts, Politics and International Relations)
Compulsory methods modules are rarely student favourites. Lecturers often devote large chunks of introductory lectures to ‘selling’ the course, partly by discussing how quantitative skills are valuable for a variety of careers (British Academy, 2013). While this is useful, I have reflected on what more could be done to make methods courses feel more immediately relevant to increase student motivation.
While teaching I had plenty of conversations with students about the course. While some students are motivated by future career benefits, I found that smaller and more immediate factors have greater resonance with students who are adamant they will never have any use – academic or professional – for quantitative methods. These include better understanding of readings for other modules, learning how to write reports, and gaining skills needed to plan and write a dissertation. These potential motivations could only be found through speaking to students individually. I discussed with a philosophy student, for example, how having an understanding of quantitative methods would enable students to critique this approach to justify others.
Considering Kaplan and O’Neill’s (2018) argument that we should address low student motivation in compulsory courses by giving students greater autonomy within them, in future I would like to agree personalised course aims with each student. Discussions about students’ attitudes toward the course, which often emerge naturally, could be used to agree personal aims that the tutor can ‘check in’ with during the course. This would also give tutors a better idea of how to make classes feel more relevant to students with different skills and aims.
British Academy (2013). 'Stand Out and Be Counted. A Guide to Maximizing Your Prospects for Students in the Social Science and Humanities Subjects'. London: The British Academy. Available at: https://esrc.ukri.org/files/research/stand-out-and-be-counted-a-guide-to-maximising-your-prospects/
Kaplan, R., and O’Neill, K., 2018. Teaching Required Courses: Pedagogy under Duress. Pedagogy, 8 (1), pp. 25-50.
by Amber Macintyre
Play is a manifestation of a willful and absorbing connection with ourselves, each other and ideas.
Play can:
There are types of play such as symbolic play involving the redefining of the meaning of objects, role play which involves acting as other characters and structured play such as games with set rules and competition, each having its own time and place.
I used mostly symbolic play in my teaching for political communications. For example, I used an activity which involved the creation of avatars with tinfoil which was given to the class with the question “What three attributes make a good or bad politician”? Playing with the concepts of good and bad politicians created levity and communication between the class that had been more awkward before. One student thanked me for the tasks who later expressed difficulties working in English. It allowed for a lot of variety and all answers were interested and relevant but not necessarily what was read previously, and therefore created personal connection with the topic.
Although the majority of feedback was positive, there was one student who didn’t enjoy the activities at all. Firstly, no teaching style is for everyone and playful pedagogy should be involved alongside other teaching styles. Secondly, the definitions show how important it is for it to be intrinsically motivated, and so if someone doesn’t want to join in, it is important to give the sensation of freedom to sit out, which can be hard for the teacher. Again, having an ecology of pedagogical styles, even within in class, can help with this.
Anyone who is interested to hear more please do get in touch. Reading can begin with Huizinga’s “Homo Ludens” originally published in 1938 or if preferred an exploration of Yesim Kunter’s collection of blogs and resources on this website: http://www.yesimkunter.com/.
I would like to introduce a concept that has been developed by Margaret Price. Price argues that the educational environment, and more specifically the classroom, are kairotic spaces in that they are informal areas "of academe where knowledge is produced and power is exchanged." Price argues that kairotic spaces carry with them ethical, contextual and temporal implications. Conjuncting well with critical accounts of education such as Paulo Freire's concept of the 'banking' approach to education, Price's notion of kairotic space rejects such dehumanising accounts of education, by directing our attention to the relation of power in the classroom, and that different participants in that space may perceive the opportunities/risks in different ways. As Price notes those who move through such spaces with ease, such as those with social capital, tend not to notice the tension within such spaces. However, for myself, it is in the recognition of the dynamics of kairotic space that understanding rather than simply to instruct, or 'banking' approaches to education.
References:
Freire,Paulo.2005 [1970].Pedagogy of the oppressed.Translated by Myra Bergman Ramos.Continuum: New York; London.
Price, Margaret. 2017 [2016], UN/SHARED SPACE: The dilemma of inclusive architecture, in Disability, Space and Architecture: A Reader.Routledge Abingdon, Oxon (pp.155-172).