Teaching Advice: Teaching to the Situation

A few years into my graduate career in philosophy and with some – but not tons – of teaching experience under my belt, I accepted a position as an adjunct instructor of philosophy at a local community college. The first day of critical thinking class, I arrived early to my classroom, a little anxious but a little excited about stretching my professorial wings. I found myself, an enthusiastic early-twenties smartypants, in front of a class of adults – parents, veterans, firefighters, etc. – trying to convince them that their very thinking needed improvement, and that I could show them the way. As I took attendance, I asked each student what his or her major was, so I could say a few words about how the critical thinking course might serve his or her needs and interests. I was taken aback when one student replied that his major was “gunsmithing;” another reported “fire science” (a degree to prepare for leadership positions with the fire department). Put on the spot, I struggled to say something interesting about what critical thinking skills could do specifically for them. I'm sure that the students detected my unfamiliarity with their school and its programs, and may have assumed that I looked down on their practical, rather than intellectual, pursuits.

These community college students had majors, as well as whole types of lives, with which I had difficulty identifying. Over the course of the semester, I learned more and more about the challenges they were facing (e.g., single-handedly caring for children, caring for parents, long work hours, health problems); I also learned about how my students judged whether academic material was useful or a just another credentialing hoop for them to jump. In retrospect, I would have spent less time on the introductory logic unit and more time on the chapters about journalism, advertising, and science. Cutting out modus ponens and modus tollens wouldn’t have constituted a watering down of the course, but would have reflected a legitimate prioritization of material that I, as a teacher, can and must determine on the behalf of my students.

Making your courses relevant to, and appropriate for, students may seem difficult, but I encourage you to try. This task will be easier with some courses than others – for instance I didn’t have to do much to motivate the fairly difficult biomedical ethics material because my students (1) were mostly nursing majors who already had work experience in the medical field, and (2) had selected themselves into what was known to be one of the college's most difficult courses of study. If you’re teaching introductory-level history or math, you may face more of a challenge in adjusting your courses to fit your audience. This may be a time- and energy-consuming task, but, without first securing the students’ buy-in and motivated attention, any further material you go on to teach will be largely in vain.

As competition for academic positions continues to increase, you are likely to find yourself teaching at schools unlike those you’ve attended, to students whose lives are quite different than yours. Striving to be an empathetic and needs-responsive teacher needn’t involve lowering the bar per se, but it may very well involve tinkering with the “big picture” of your course to better fit the situation.

I’ll never forget an implicit compliment I received towards the end of the semester, from a male critical thinking student in his late twenties who had gone back to school after some time in the army. He told me something to the effect of: “Damn this class – now, whenever I’m chatting with other players on World of Warcraft, I can’t help but point out the logical fallacies they commit!” Because that section of the critical thinking material was demonstrated with many examples and had clear application to his life, he carried it with him outside of the classroom and into the “real world.” It was my proudest moment of the semester.

For more teaching advice:

Teaching Advice from the Network

How to Challenge Students Who Agree With You, by Antony Davies

Dealing With Challenging Situations Involving Students in the Classroom, an interview with Chris Martin