Reflection: How I Meet My First Year Students (Christina Howard)
At the start of every term in the first online course students take in the PTA program, I ask the students to post a brief introduction that includes their favorite book and a food they have never eaten but would like to try. This is my way of personalizing the online environment while providing a low-stakes activity to get students accustomed to discussions.
Without realizing it, I have been integrating the social elements of reading as a way of connecting students, and I also get a snapshot of their reading habits.
Here are some brief examples:
- Hi, my name is *** and my favorite book is Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Since Anna Karenina was originally written in Russian I found some of the translations to be difficult to read. The first time I read the book I read the best translation but I cannot find which translation it was! Sad.
- My favorite book does not exist. Most because I don't like reading very much so its hard to pick one outside of the bible of course
- I really enjoy reading so to pick one book would be really hard, but the series that really got me into reading is A House of Night by P.C. Cast. I mainly look for series novels because I like the "suspense" of waiting for the next book to come out.
- My name is ******, the last book that I read, other than a text book, was in high school. I guess I would have to say that my favorite was, Red Badge of Courage
- I have a strong faith in the Bible as the Living Word. I seek comfort and counsel from its pages. God is not an easy thing to grasp or accept for, dare I say, all of us. So, although I love reading and have found many books I enjoy, none have taken the place of the Bible as my favorite.
- I have many favorite books, but I'd say the two that have had the biggest influence on my life are: The Ominvore's Dillema, and In Defense of Food, both by Michael Pollan. These two books profoundly altered my view on nutrition, how and why we eat what we do, and raised my awareness of how essential healthy eating and nutriton is to our wellbeing.
- I don’t really read many books other than academic books during school. This is due to being outdoors majority of the time but I do read the Bible daily for spiritual and personal growth.
- Having said that, a favorite book of mine is Shadow Divers, by Robert Kurson, which details the journey of two divers who discover a German submarine wreck off the coast of New Jersey.
These are just a few examples of the diversity within the class: fiction, non-fiction, adventure, classic literature, contemporary issues, and Christianity, etc.
Next year, I think I'll close out the discussion by commenting on this diversity and setting the tone for respecting multiple points of view and interests as we share a common goal of learning to be PTAs.
Since reading the text and researching this topic more, I now think I can use this introduction activity as a way to have students self assess their reading strengths. For example, if you are a fiction reader, then non-fiction texts reading may be a challenge just due to lack of practice. For my students who cite activity as a reason for being for not reading (cited by three of my self-proclaimed outdoorsey folks) I can help them make connections to guide books, manuals, maps, interpretive signs as evidence of how they use reading to solve problems.
Does anyone else have some suggestions for how to make this a transparent "Reading Apprentiship" activity?
I also learned a new word recently: canonicity. At least 30% of my students consistently cite the Bible in homework assignments and papers, especially when we integrate professionalism, ethics, and inclusive communication. It can be difficult to engage students with diverse perspectives if they deem the perspective to be in conflict with the Bible. Any thoughts on how the Reading Apprentiship model may address this?