Session w/c 1st March: Feedback

• Video: Performing to an Invisible Audience (25 min)URL

Comments / highlights on above video – from this week’s resources:

• “Perfection can be a barrier to connection.” – (I noticed in our class that many other picked up on this too.) This was said in relation to making mistakes when speaking to audience – whether recorded or live. If the delivery is too perfect it might seem somehow artificial. Instead, being imperfect and making a few mistakes shows humanity and thereby supports connection with the audience.
• Smiling releasing oxytocin – Again this is about connection. Oxytocin is usually more connected to closer relationships (and sometimes nicknamed the love hormone) but it is true that it’s one of the chemicals released through connection, and smiling can help you feel just that – more connected. Smiling at a stranger in the street has potential to enhance their day and change their mood for the better. The same thing goes in a teaching session. Can it get too much though? The woman in this video was VERY smiley and it almost felt a bit fake.
• Breathe – I’ll just leave that word there.
• Look at the camera – I never thought about looking at the camera, not the people / names / presentation on my screen. Although it does make sense I think I would find this difficult. However, I will give it a go.
• Be kind to yourself – My friend always tells me this and I like to repeat it to others.

Next up was a discussion on ‘What are we doing with our invisible audiences?‘ We used this Padlet to first type answers individually, which Lindsay grouped together:

I found the question a little difficult. I suppose we try to do everything we would do with our visible audience. Inform, give feedback, connect, create community and conversations etc. But we have to work harder to achieve these goals. Or at least approach it in a different way.

The above groups were put into discussion topics on a new Padlet here.

I had not heard of a Miro board before. Sounds like a really good tool for interactive teamwork.

Also interesting note/recommendation on: Ferris Bueller’s day off – classroom scene – students look bored. What do you do when there’s no response? Teacher in film was asking question that only has a right or wrong answer – think about what kind of questions are you asking? Why are you asking right / wrong questions? What are you trying to achieve?

Another recommendation from Tim Stephens: Thanks for the feedback (link to study guide) “Learning about yourself can be painful. The way people deliver feedback is sometimes inaccurate, unfair, and poorly delivered. They may deliver it at times when you are least receptive. Regardless of that, you can learn to become better at receiving feedback and growing from it.”

NEXT PART OF SESSION – Discuss in group – A time to reflect text (McFarlane 2004)

We were struggling to decide on a questions. However, as my group member was talking one of the things she said was “Who gets to embody the institution?” I pointed out that perhaps this is our question as it captures everything we have been discussing. Everyone agreed that this was a great question.

We were asked to add our typed up text to this discussion forum on Moodle. However, I can still only see three of the other groups posts and not our own (which my peer posted). Not sure why it’s not working for me. We were the first group to post and others could see it. However, here is some text from it:

Who gets to embody the institution?

• Do institutional demands mitigate against open reflection?
• Max was opinionated in his views and lacked balance. He was openly critical of other views
• This attitude has the potential to undermine the evidential research driven approach S prioritises
• Does Max position himself deliberately outside/inside in order to be political?
• Charisma is often gendered, would a woman communicate in the way Max does?
• S. is a well regarded academic, her ego demands respect to her own methods, how could she manage this?
• Her approach is disparaged by the students due to the way the materials are presented, what could she do about this?
• Are these two different ways of being an ego driven teacher?
• S. is dismissive of the small number of students who claim not to understand the assessment process, what could she do?
• How to balance student-centered learning against teachers centering themselves in the learning?
• Does neutrality exist? (Empirical evidence finding also constitutes a discourse)
• Do the feedback tools available influence what it is possible to say?

Stephanie embodies the institution via conferences, academic papers – she operates within that field of research work and this is where she feels valued, her self interests. Her teaching isn’t actually what she sees as a priority. she values the affirmation of the institution provides her as her position, knowledge, and accolades. She is not investing in the dramatic friendship the same way as Max. Does the way Stephanie has embodied the institution served her? She is not getting the respect she perhaps thinks she should get. Her positionality determines where her age and gender are not rewarded the same way by the institution, as Max might be able to use his positionality to confront the institution or gov policy.

I was personally interested in the discussions on age and gender. For example, ‘charismatic’ being a term more often used to describe men. I also picked up on how another group has described Stephanie as an ‘over achiever’. I wondered what made them deem her as this and I doubt that they would describe a man in the same manner – surely he would just be seen as an ‘achiever’.