Winter Term Reflections
Coming into the second term of mentoring, I felt more at ease. Not only had I gotten a term of mentoring experience under my belt, but the topic of the class was more familiar territory. When I met with my faculty partner, Leah Brookner, I was even more excited for the term. Not only does Leah have many years of experience, she is warm, approachable, and extremely organized. From the very first, we were able to plan out session topics for the term together, making sure that the activities in sessions complemented topics covered in class.
I was equally impressed with the group who signed up for this course. Not only did students come to class and participate consistently, they were enthusiastic about the lectures. With little prompting, almost every student participated in the media presentations and group discussions.
It was enjoyable to see this level of engagement in another SINQ course (I have heard many people say that evening courses tend to draw more mature and thoughtful students, and after two terms, I believe it! Of course, I haven't seen a morning class with which to compare it...). Leah also mentioned how impressed she was with this particular group.
Mentoring sessions were equally lively and well attended. Students engaged in the activities and seemed to enjoy games and partner work the most. Many were vocal in their opinions regarding topics related to the class and how they felt about using Twitter in the sessions. There were two things I enjoyed most about the mentor sessions. First, all three groups were enthusiastic about, to the point of insisting on, sharing High/Lows for the week (one thing that went well & one thing that could have been better for each individual). This led to a building of community among session members unlike what I'd seen in my previous term. By the end of the course, students openly discussed plans to study or hang out together outside of class. I felt that this community sprang from a professor who provided fun and engaging lectures, and sessions which facilitated students getting to know each other better. I am very pleased with this community, in addition to the academic growth that students showed over ten weeks.
I was equally impressed with the group who signed up for this course. Not only did students come to class and participate consistently, they were enthusiastic about the lectures. With little prompting, almost every student participated in the media presentations and group discussions.
It was enjoyable to see this level of engagement in another SINQ course (I have heard many people say that evening courses tend to draw more mature and thoughtful students, and after two terms, I believe it! Of course, I haven't seen a morning class with which to compare it...). Leah also mentioned how impressed she was with this particular group.
Mentoring sessions were equally lively and well attended. Students engaged in the activities and seemed to enjoy games and partner work the most. Many were vocal in their opinions regarding topics related to the class and how they felt about using Twitter in the sessions. There were two things I enjoyed most about the mentor sessions. First, all three groups were enthusiastic about, to the point of insisting on, sharing High/Lows for the week (one thing that went well & one thing that could have been better for each individual). This led to a building of community among session members unlike what I'd seen in my previous term. By the end of the course, students openly discussed plans to study or hang out together outside of class. I felt that this community sprang from a professor who provided fun and engaging lectures, and sessions which facilitated students getting to know each other better. I am very pleased with this community, in addition to the academic growth that students showed over ten weeks.