By: Sabrina Doyle
Adrian Chan likes to think of his classroom as more of a community. In many learning environments, he says, the onus is on the instructor to make the learning process a success because both teachers and students are caught in a cycle of thinking that鈥檚 the way it鈥檚 supposed to be.
鈥淏ut then it鈥檚 a battle. I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 what students want. They appreciate the fact that they need to be tested, but I think they鈥檝e lost that ownership,鈥� he says.
Chan, who was one of three 2012-13 winners of the Provost鈥檚 Fellowship in Teaching Award at 杏吧原创, works to instill in his students a sense of responsibility for their own learning.
For instance, in a graduate class that he taught this year, he led the students through an experiment: He spent the initial lecture talking about 鈥渨hat education is鈥� and why the students were at university. Then Chan had them write a letter of justification for their final mark, far before they鈥檇 even done any of the work or received a grade.
鈥淚t was kind of like a 鈥榯his is what I promise to do鈥� type thing,鈥� he says.
Chan then took all their letters and made word maps out of them.
鈥淎 lot of what they were talking about was assignments and deadlines. They are being driven by these externalities. Others were talking more about knowledge and learning and self-motivation.鈥�
It was the first time Chan had done such an experiment. He can鈥檛 say for sure whether it had much of an impact but he says that he found the class was very engaged and that students seemed to have an understanding that they had to take responsibility for their own learning.
鈥淢y lifelong goal is to make a difference in the world. What are the stories that my children鈥檚 children鈥檚 children are going to say about me?鈥�
When he teaches, he says his impact is amplified through his students and how they go on to live their lives.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 kid myself into thinking that they鈥檙e doing these things because of me, but I鈥檇 like to think I made some small contribution to who they are right now. 鈥�