Some thoughts on the recognition as Excellent Teaching Practitioner

I have always coveted this recognition from my peers with a longing desire. I had encountered structural issues with the way the application was expected to be written. Writing this application and iteratively improving the application content has been undoubtedly the most challenging experience of my professional life. I had come away empty-handed on multiple occasions, but the reflections triggered by those rejections were profound, sometimes altering my perceptions of reality and sometimes affirming my long-held beliefs about the worthiness of what I do the way I do in my encounter with the student. But never did I compromise on what I 'felt' was the right thing to do - do everything in your power to care for the student. 

18 NTNU-forelesere får heder for undervisning

There was this one written comment I received in the past from my peers: "... he defends lectures as an important part of university teaching, however it is unclear what is the basis for the assertions that are made here, besides personal views and opinions.... the use of the word 'believe' indicates that the claims made here are more based on personal opinions than on research, theories...." That was probably the stupidest I had ever felt, even bothering to try to 'defend' what was self-evident for me. Turns out, it is all about evidence when it comes to the formal recognition of excellence, and so I set about to collect it, plenty of it, systematically, to document what worked, and what did not in the very many learning activities I devised for the student.

Comments in the past interviews such as "students may like you and your teaching, but that does not make you a pedagogically good teacher" were downright deflating. When one panelist asked me what I thought was my strength, and I answered "charisma and passion, which my students tell me I have in abundance", he was startled as I seemed to have offended his Scandinavian sensibilities that subscribe to Janteloven. In their comments this year, the committee writes this: "It should be pointed out that a major drawback of the application is a stylistic one..." And I genuinely let out a smile. I see their point. But I am what I am, stylistically speaking. A reflection note is supposed to reflect my authentic personality. I have told my Master's students on multiple occasions that a thesis ought to be written like Quentin Tarantino directs his movies - you cannot do much with the story, but you can do everything to create a powerful narrative that brings life to your story.

More often than not, the interviews had felt like interrogations and not the dialogues they were supposed to be between peers. But then again, there were also these gentle giants in the interview panels, who with their kindness, compassion, and knack got out of me what they were looking for, to validate their impressions of how I fulfilled the various criteria to various degrees. Interviewing a peer is an art form indeed, and the live example they set for me is something I cherish and use as motivation in bringing out the best in the student in my one-to-one meetings with the student.

I was encouraged to explore the concept of 'Teacher Feedback Literacy' by a panelist, which I duly did. Knowledge from this exploration, especially on undertaking intra- and inter-personal development, fundamentally changed the way I began to process feedback from students and peers alike. 

In case you are wondering what my teaching philosophy revolves around: it is all about endeavouring to realise the conditions under which a student thrives and learns. In my application, I state that I have come to appreciate and understand, from my own experience and experiences of colleagues, and then comparing some of my experiences with what Arild Raaheim discusses in his book «Råd og tips til deg som underviser», that students learn: when they are motivated, when they are respected, when they are stretched and challenged, when they are ‘engaged’, when they are given feedback, when they work in collaboration with peers, when they are involved and made responsible, when they feel welcomed and valued, when they are exposed to a variety of relevant instruction (teaching) methods and assessment methods, when the learning environment is ‘inclusive’, when the teacher is passionate, committed, and caring. 

Ytring

Konsekvenser av dårligere økonomi på undervisning

I am forever indebted to these Excellent Teaching Practitioners - Guri Korpås, Reidar Lyng, Katja Hakel, my comrades in arms, my role models, who joyfully, unreservedly shared their startling depths of pedagogical insights with me, and in the process made me a better teacher (and even a better application writer!) I am in constant amazement of Guri Korpås and Gabrielle Hansen and my colleagues from "FTS i praksis" workshops, who lift me up unfailingly. I am truly humbled by the abiding passion for teaching in all the 'ildsjeler' I continue to meet and interact with at the various pedagogical fora at NTNU. I am forever grateful to Johanna Lönngren (from Umeå University) and her NTNU SEED seminars and workshops on Sustainability in Engineering Education. Her research work also explores the role of emotions in teaching and learning about technology and engineering; it gave me the much-needed evidence that being emotional and focusing on students' emotions is an asset to a teacher. Last but not least, it takes a village to raise a child; my colleagues at the Department of Electric Energy, including leadership, have nurtured me over the years (14 to be precise) with much trust, care, support, and the freedom to explore and chart my own path as a teacher. After all, I am only as good as my support team. They have offered nourishment after all my previous failed attempts at earning this recognition, and urged me to never give up the pursuit. This recognition is a testament to the power of 'communities of practice'. 

And the inevitable question of 'dedication'. To whom do I dedicate this 'award' of recognition? My students from over the last 12 years at NTNU. Hands down. Their admiration, their critical feedback, and their rightful demands for excellence have brought me this far in life. They are the reason I have a sense of purpose every day I come to the University. That I get the opportunity to be a facilitator to unlock their potential for learning, for creating 'knowledge for a better world'. My students are the reason I want to continue to better myself as a teacher.

I must say a recognition like this makes me gleam with joy - I guess I am after all better at this than I thought I was. The grapes taste sweet indeed.

Disclaimer: All the content is absolutely self-generated.🙂 No AI was used in the making of this!