A belated post… Wanted to reflect on the micro teaching straight after but days have just flew by!
I really enjoyed the micro teaching session last week. Even though I am quite used to plan teaching around objects due to the nature of what we do. However, it made me realise how much more in depth you can go with just one object. Sometimes maybe we try to teach too much in one session and therefore miss the deep analysis and discussions resulting from the object.
I choose to focus on hair in my session. Mainly because this is probably an ‘item’ or material that most peers might not be used to touch and analyse. I also wanted to challenge myself to focus on the object only, not using visual slides or other sources of information that I guess we are used to back up our teaching with.
Even though my time plan was OKish, I didn’t factor the spark of interest the participants showed and therefore run out of time getting everyones feedback.
The really interesting outcome I think was the debate around ethical issues dealing with human / animal / synthetic hair. I am used to have these discussions with students that are maybe used to hair so for them it might not be as ‘shocking’ or provocative as a material to use in a practical field. However, discussing the ethical issues with ‘non hairy’ peers there were interesting thoughts on consent using both human and animal hair and how hair can give away your DNA with quite serious consequences if falls into the wrong hands.
The feedback I received was all positive and maybe typically ‘peer’ feedback so would’ve been nice to have something more constructive as well.
It was a very engaging session. Great use of objects and really engaged students as a result!
The use of the hair enabled a good conversation about ethics – a good example of object based learning.
You were very present in the room – no tech – made it more engaging.
Fascinating discussion and a great way to explore wider issues ranging from ethics to environment to future use. Really enjoyable and surprising. Loved being able to touch all the hair!
Impressive you immersed us in the world of hair so quickly.
The introduction of your own human hair was really shocking and brought the ethical considerations of hair into the room, and made the stakes more personal. I won’t forget the conversation as a result!
This is truly Object-Led. I like how you lead us to think about cultural and ethical aspects. The reveal moment at the end is great and does make the whole session more performative and memorable.