I have often heard my father say that teachers are not well-to-do and that “their reward is in heaven.” I vowed not to become a teacher. My mother was a different kind of teacher; she combined her domestic science school with successful trading and other business ventures like commercial baking, cloth-dying and sewing. She, however, favored education like my father. When I was at college, I looked forward to graduation and end of courses and classes. I did not know that I would go on and on to get more education. From English to Theater to African Studies to Women’s Studies, I focused on learning and the acquisition of knowledge. I found that I was happiest when I was interacting with other people as we shared knowledge and learnt from each other. I have enjoyed this aspect in friends, family, students, colleagues, and community groups. I like the enthusiasm, challenge, and information that flow in knowledge-sharing. This is not limited to the classes that I teach. It includes informal interaction with other people as well as communication through poetry reading and speaking engagements.
“Side shows”
I was brought up in the traditional podium style of classroom where the teacher knew it all and stood by the blackboard while the rest of us took notes like we were in a church. Occasionally in small classes, the teacher would invite comments. I was shy and never used to say much until I got comfortable in the class. For me, the teacher knew it all, and with him (mostly him during my time) and his authority and power, I could not imagine commenting on or contradicting his views. In addition, he stood up there on stage while we sat down here taking notes. Some teachers made us comfortable by getting us involved through creative dramatization and narration of anecdotes. I have very good memories of the story-telling aspects of my elementary education syllabus in which we participated in the narration of folk stories. These “side shows” were internalized by me and have become part of my teaching method.
Critical thinking and team-work:
I use
different teaching methods that challenge my students to independent thinking.
For example, I create scenarios for class discussions. There are very
few students who do not like to speak, but I try to emphasize the importance of
their taking part in the control of their learning through their personal input
in class discussions. I usually divide my large classes into seminar and presentation
groups where students work together in small groups. They
engage their learning though discussions and problem-solving skits devised by
them under my direction. I find this effective in challenging students to think
critically and relate issues to society and personal lives. This has also been useful in boosting
the comfort level of those who are shy in large groups. Some of them become
more engaging in discussions that involve the whole class.
Local and International visitors:
I like to give students the opportunity to interact with other voices so that they can appreciate other perspectives and enlarge their learning beyond what I have brought into the classroom. It also gives me the opportunity to observe how they use the knowledge gained from the course. Visitors have included members of the university community like professors and students as well as members of the community outside the campus and this includes international visitors.
Local business owners, organizers, and people who live in our communities have spoken in my classes. Examples include Roselyn Onijala of Roselyn International, Wichita KS. She brought Nigerian tie-and-dye cloth and used it to discuss women’s work with students at WSU. Mel Zimmerman, a volunteer for National Organization of Women (NOW), has used her personal experience as a home-maker and mother in Kansas to discuss women’s contribution to society. Dr. Kate Wininger, a professor of philosophy, has used her personal experience of gender to discuss male privileging with my students in Portland, ME.
Students like to hear about other cultures, so I try to bring international visitors to the classes. In 2006 three Kenyan women politicians - Khadija Swaleh Hassan (Mombasa), Janet Ekumbo Mbete (Kwale), and Zahara Shee Mohamed (Lamu) - visited Wichita, Kansas. They spoke in my class about their challenges in the political process. Sometimes, I take students to international events so that they can experience other cultures and raise issues that we debrief in class. I also speak in the classes of colleagues in my university and elsewhere. Examples include the classes taught by Dr. D. Billings at Wichita State University and Dr. Gretchen Eick of Friends University, Wichita, Kansas.
Global Telephone and Video conferences:
Mentoring of Women’s Studies’ and
International students through creative
activity:
Page title: Learning & Teaching Last update: March 28, 2011 Web page by C. G. Okafor |
Copyrights Copywright © Chinyere G. Okafor Contact: chinyere.okafor@wichita.edu |