Developing Your Teacher Voice

One of the things I love that I get to do in my role as a teacher educator is coaching student teachers. It's just such a pleasure to see students at the end of their studies in our program pulling together all of the things they have learned and putting into practice! That's not to say that they all have it all figured out. Most have growth areas--which is normal, when you are just starting out in a profession. Often I've given them specific coaching on particular aspects of their teaching: using their physical presence as part of their classroom management, strategies for making groups, tips for facilitating discussions, and the like.

Sometimes we have to work on their "teacher voice." My fellow educators probably know what I'm talking about here: there is a way of using your voice as a teacher that we don't use in many other settings. It's not just about being the loudest person in the room, it's more a quality of how we use our voice to command authority, to facilitate the discussion, to draw students in to the learning.

Some teachers seem to learn this very naturally, while others need to practice it, but most highly effective teachers have a very real sense of "voice" that they use as a key part of their teaching practice.

And today, I'm made acutely aware of this fact, because I've lost my voice. I have a cold, and with it, my larynx is failing me. I can whisper, but with some difficulty, and that only seems to make things worse, honestly. I'm struggling and straining, and it's making me realize just how much my voice is part of my teaching practice overall.

At the moment, I'm wondering how tomorrow's classes are going to go, and the meetings I have scheduled with students as well. It's difficult to communicate in the classroom when one of my most important tools is inaccessible! Can I plan other ways to communicate? Certainly. But will they be as effective? Well...maybe...but I feel like I'm going to be struggling to do my best teaching if I have to rely on body language, facial expression, writing on the board, and strained whispers to get the point across. Particularly because we're in the first days of the new school year, and I'm still doing so much relationship-building with students...and I am finding just how much I depend on my voice to do this work. This is requiring me to think creatively about what I can and should be doing to connect well with my students!

The real lesson for me is this: the teacher voice, once developed, is an effective means of keeping students "with you" in class. And now that I've come to rely on it so strongly, I'm really struggling without it!

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash

Beginning Again

Man, you guys...I just love to teach!

I mean, it's terrifying, you know? Stepping into the classroom at the beginning of the year, ready to meet new students, and sort of hoping that everything doesn't come crashing apart in the first 10 minutes, but then you meet the students and find out how great they really are, and find your groove, and launch in to the new school year...

I love this work so much.

It's the first day of the new semester, the new academic year. This is my 22nd year as a professional educator, and my 8th year teaching in higher edu. That's crazy to me! It went so fast.

Right before Intro to Ed this morning, I tweeted...

First day of my 22nd year of teaching. Let’s see if I remember how to do this...bring on the learning! 😃 pic.twitter.com/QmsJDfclbz

— Dave Mulder (@d_mulder) August 27, 2019

I remembered how to do this. It was a good first day of class.

I love beginnings. I love the rhythm of the school year. I love that we get to start fresh every year. I love the newness of it all: new students, new schedules, new takes on the things I've done before.

Here's to beginning again!

Image via Pixabay [used with permission]

Overcoming Writer's Block

I have written so very little this summer, and that pains me in some ways.

Writing is so often cathartic, and a key part of my reflective practice as an educator.

I enjoy writing, most of the time.

But this summer has been...well, my life is rich and full.

And my rich, full life means I have not been able to prioritize some things that I really enjoy, including writing.

I have had some great adventures this summer, things that I've been mulling over how they might become blog posts: the story of getting stung by a stingray, the things I learned as a 40-something on a high ropes course, my typical post-Royal Family Kids Camp reflections, how my dog and I are both turning into curmudgeonly old grumps on our morning walks, how my faith-life continues to develop, my son and I enjoying a sushi lunch, new approaches I've been trying for live meetings in online courses, a hilarious Bob Ross themed gift from a dear colleague...I have a lot I'm thinking about writing.

But, somehow, I haven't been able to prioritize the writing.

Sure, it has something to do with the preparations for the new academic year, which starts next Tuesday for me.

And it definitely has something to do with a very busy (joyful!) summer of teaching.

And I'm sure part of it is is that I'm having a hard time with a writing project I have to do, and despite my generally-positive disposition, I haven't been able to make the turn yet into making this a "get too" instead of "have to" proposition.

But I'm wondering right now if the underlying thing is actually that I got out of the habit this summer, and I'm just struggling to get the writing wheels turning again?

All of this to say, I'm hopeful that this post will help me overcome my writer's block, and get back at it!

Image via pixabay

Moving and Change

We moved to a new home last week. It was an adventure, and still is, I guess, since all our stuff is in the new house but we are still figuring out where it is, and where it should be. When one of the kids unloads the dishwasher, it takes three times longer than it used to, because for almost every item they have to bring it to Mom with a, "And where does this go?" And it's not just the kids, it's me too: "Honey, have you seen the box with extension cords in it?" and "Where did we put the blender now? I thought it was in this cupboard..."

New house: Brick! Walking distance from campus! 

Moving means recalibrating. We get to find new "normal" places for our stuff. We get to figure out traffic patterns for how we function together in this space. We get to (try to) figure out which switches control which lights. We get to settle in to new routines.

Wisdom? Or Common Sense?

A friend of mine recently posted a photo of me on Facebook. It's actually a photo of a page in the most recent issue of our University magazine for alumni, and supporters, and friends of the institution. It was in a piece entitled, "On Civil Discourse," and I was grateful to be interviewed for this important article. (Not that my contributions were so amazing, or anything.) I encourage you to read it; you can find it online here: On Civil Discourse.

My friend shared the photo with a post, "Check out my smart friend Dave speaking wisdom." I'm grateful that she thought this was wise! Here's the photo, grabbed from her Facebook post:

Thank You!: An End of the Year Boost

I'm a techie, for sure. I love all things digital. But you know what? You just can't beat a hand-written note. There is something about it that says, "I care so much, I'm going to take the time to get out a piece of paper and a pen and devote a few minutes to creating a tangible record of my thoughts about you."

I've been teaching for over 20 years now, and I have a whole file of cards and notes that I've received from parents, students, administrators, and colleagues over the years. These are precious! The work of teaching is demanding in ways that I'm not sure non-teachers fully comprehend. Tangible expressions of gratitude, even in small ways like a card or note, are treasures that give a boost.

In the past month or so, I've received several notes of thanks from students or schools that I've worked with this year.

Getting cards like these never gets old!

Theses are going into the file. These are treasures--tangible ways of recognizing that in some way, the work I did this year with these folks made a difference for them.

School is wrapping up for this academic year. If there is an educator that made a difference in your life, in your kid's life, in your community's life...I encourage you to take a few minutes and let them know. It might seem trivial to you, but this gesture will be appreciated!

Learning Styles (Again?)

I often get requests through the professional organizations of which I am a member to participate in research studies being conducted by colleagues and graduate students. I'm happy to do this, if the topic of the study is germane to my experience, education, or context. It's interesting to see what other people in my field (EdTech) are working on, the kinds of questions they are asking, and the connections they are making. It's also a good way to keep up with developments in the field.

Today I participated in a study about preparation for online teaching. I've been part of several studies in this area in the past; with the continuing growth of online education, there is a lot of ongoing research here. What caught my eye was this item on the survey:

A screen-grab from the survey I was taking...

I was not sure how to respond to this one. Here's why: