March 31, 2024 – Easter Long Weekend

There is nothing I find more anxiety inducing than course evaluations. We are not required to do them since the pandemic, but I was encouraged by the Chair to return to this practice for feedback on my teaching and gather evidence on the quality of my teaching. Another option I could participate in is peer-evaluation but I opted to giving a survey to my students on my last day of classes. I have also informally asked a few recent graduates who I supervised during long practicum if they are willing to write letters of reference about my teaching and mentorship.

The more that I am transitioning to be more of myself (and be myself), the more open I am to receiving this feedback. I’ve had some traumatizing events that has happened to me with course evaluations and how higher education is dependent on the opinion of others. There is a fine balance between being your authentic self and the judgement of others. I could critically reflect on this experience as the opportunity to differentiate between GROWTH MINDSET and FIXED MINDSET. The fixed mindset tends to be performative and growth mindset about learning.

Learning requires one to be vulnerable. Like teaching, learning is a vulnerable act. With vulnerability, expect moments to be knocked down. I’m not saying expect the worst, but what I am saying is, “the perfect curling shot” does not happen all of the time. The goal is to be consistent and make the most of a given situation. Don’t dwell on the missed shot. The missed shot or lost game do not define who you are “as a curler.” As the Canadian women’s world curling champions said throughout the tournament, they focused on the learning as their strategy for the next game.

That curling team always said they had fun on the ice. I love that. They are engaged in high performance curling and they are having fun. Truth. They are focused on one shot at a time. They lost their last game in the round robin, but they did not let that loss negatively impact their mindset or performance. They had the self-confidence and sense of self-worth to just bounce back. They ended up playing that team in the semi-finals and won that game and the finals. Not to drift into a tangent about curling, but what I am saying is, feedback and learning are key!!

Be open. Be kind. Be compassionate. These three axioms are not just to others but also to oneself. I had an awesome term with my classes this term. They were not “perfect” classes, but I was learning and trying my best given the circumstances. That’s all I can ask for from myself. I can’t dwell on my mistakes or missteps, but I can reflect on these experiences, good or bad, and learn from those experiences to do better next time. I have one more class next Monday for EDUC 201 online. Then, it’s will be a week or so of marking and feedback. The term is almost over.

The term ended somewhat abruptly soon after practicum and reading break. I wish all of the students in my classes the best and happy Easter long weekend. I’m looking forward to going to Calgary, AB to present at WestCAST 2024 at the University of Calgary and support a group of teacher candidates who are also presenting at this conference next week. Take it one day at a time. Be present. Focus on being consistent, executing the perfect curling shot, learn from my mistakes, seek help from others, work together as a team, and have fun!! 🙂