Robert has taught online for a number of semesters, but found himself teaching a Sports Management course face-to-face for the first time last semester. Given a syllabus, some objectives, and the class meeting times, he soon realized that this was less a job but a journey - for both him and his students.
He spent the semester trying a variety of techniques to move his students' skill levels closer and closer to the course objective of viewing sports through the critical lens of legal issues. He experienced the inevitable ups and downs of classroom teaching where attempts at making an impact were at times a miss, but increasingly - through trial and error, intentional design, and calculated risk - a hit.
On his last day of class he decided to share a poem that manifested the journey he and his students were on. A senior waited after class to individually thank him for sharing the poem and the journey, noting it a perfect end to his UC experience.
This semester the CIL asks you to invite us into your teaching trials and errors, to help guide your instructional choices, and consider taking some calculated risks in learning.
Center for Innovative Learning
Center for Innovative Learning
127 White Hall
rjmiller@utica.edu