Issue link: http://ncumarketing.uberflip.com/i/1111579
TEACHINGTIPS Faculty/Student Interaction at the Forefront in the NCU One-to-One Experience I've been fascinated with relationships for as long as I can remember, whether with my family, friends, or the broader community. And like Martin Buber's assertion, I believe that God (Buber's the Eternal Thou) is encountered in the contact made between people as they interact and genuinely connect with one another. I'm sure it is one of the reasons I became a marriage and family therapist. For me, relationships are the true richness of life. In an academic environment, the way we DO faculty/student relationships is no less important, as it is the place we endow relevant knowledge from our respective domains. When I came into the world of online teaching, I was somewhat skeptical about how faculty would teach and mentor in this medium and maximize the academic relationship. It seems counter-intuitive that mentoring relationships could thrive in an online education medium. What I have found is if I am thoughtful and intentional, I can have wonderful relationships with my students. And I am sure many of my NCU faculty colleagues share these sentiments as well. With this in mind, my "teaching tips" are reminders for remembering the human dignity of each and every student we encounter in our role as mentor. If I'm honest with myself, I need an occasional, friendly nudge, to remember this principle in my day-to-day encounters with students, fellow faculty, and staff. Most of us have a Skype account with pithy sayings and I'm not above generating my own type of proverb. It says, "Speak in a way that people can Tom Matta, PhD, LMFT Full-Time Faculty, Department of Marriage and Family Sciences hear you. It is the rare individual that can understand what is being said, if the person communicating delivers it in a contemptuous way. Offer criticism as a gift!" It is easy to mentor a willing learner who gives their best effort. The challenge comes for me, when in my estimation of students strays. This can be the result of their inattentiveness to assignment instructions, ongoing unresponsiveness to my feedback, or more egregious behaviors like AIVs or purchasing papers. If unaware, these encounters or moments can transform our perception of the relationship with a student into what Martin Buber would have referred to as an "I-It" relationship. A subtle or not-so-subtle kind of contempt can creep in, objectifying the student into an "other" and damage the learning relationship. In these cases, it is important to remember the "I-Thou" relationship. Buber says, "The aim of relation is relation's own being, that is contact with the Thou" (Buber, 1937). What I have learned in this education medium is that every interaction with a student has the potential to be a mentoring moment. Seize it! Let me paraphrase something Virginia Satir used to say to co mmunicate esteem to her clients or budding marriage and family therapists taking her training. Each person is "a treasure that is called by their name." So, here are some specific tips for operationalizing an "I-Thou" pedagogical philosophy. I realize this is somewhat reductionistic, but it is a proactive way to enhance the connection with our students. This is not an exhaustive list, but a place to start a larger conversation. 1. In that first synchronous contact, be sure to ask about the proper pronunciation of the student's name if you are unfamiliar with it.