Reflect on where joy is in your course(s) (or kindness or love) and post your thoughts as a comment below. (Click on linked words for articles exploring joy, kindness, and love in higher education.)
Powered by:
top
Reflect on where joy is in your course(s) (or kindness or love) and post your thoughts as a comment below. (Click on linked words for articles exploring joy, kindness, and love in higher education.)
Powered by:
17 thoughts on “Where is the joy in your course?”
Reflecting on my Introduction to Literature 201 course, I find joy in the positive feedback I have received from students regarding the content I have selected. In particular, students have expressed their enjoyment of the diverse stories we have explored, such as “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin. One student mentioned how they truly enjoyed reading this text and found it to be very informative. Additionally, the poetry explication project, where students explored into Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask” and then found a piece of art to represent the metaphorical mask, brought about a sense of joy and creativity in the literary classroom. It is inspiring to know that these activities not only enhance academic engagement but also foster kindness and joy as integral aspects of my pedagogy and curriculum.
Love these examples! And interesting to consider how the materials we choose might spark joy for our students.
Thank you. I wholeheartedly agree!
I believe that students get excited as they learn to create a developed paragraph and learn how to integrate a quote to make their argument stronger in a paragraph. The topics selected to write about also influences their engagement. I have always been interested in getting students’ perspectives on inequalities. After participating in several workshops on Fostering Global Competencies and initiating COIL projects, I have collected materials to orient students to the topic of discrimination and inequalities. Students’ essays are based on “Black Men Public Space” by Staples and “Growing Up with Two Moms” by Megan McGuire; students are also encouraged to bring in their own experiences in their essay. As a warm-up activity, we watch Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story”, and I ask students to share any incidents or experiences they’ve had when people misinterpret their cultures or countries. Students are usually engaged in group work, and they share their stories and perspectives meaningfully. They are genuinely interested in the topic and take responsibility in sharing their experiences. They sometimes laugh about the misinterpretations and how their cultures are misinterpreted. Observing students who are engaged and working/discussing together brings joy to me as well as to them. Here is a short section of a video, showing a student sharing his experience and others listening attentively. Later they ask questions and share their own experiences. Here is the link of a Youtube video showing student group work.
Very informative. Your course seems engaging and parallel to the content that I teach. I have also taught with the essay by Brent Staples, “Black Men in Public Space” and the TED Talk speech, “The Danger of a Single” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for English Composition 101. These are great, culturally, diverse tools to help students understand the danger of stereotypes. Thank you for sharing the YouTube video. I look forward to watching it.
Joy — that’s a big word. The joy is discovery. It is when a student discovers something unexpected. When they hear something that they feel in their gut for the first time and can’t explain why. It is when they realize music is an art and not just distraction or entertainment. An example: One student was fairly disconnected from what I had played until we got to Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Suddenly, he was paying attention in a new way. He was so excited by the sounds and colors of that work. He told me after that he played the recording of (all 50 mins) for all of his friends! And listening to other large scale romantic Period orchestral works trying to see what they had to offer. It is that kind of discovery where the joy lives.
As a teacher, nothing makes me happier than seeing my students truly “get it.” It’s gratifying when they connect the dots between what we’re doing in class and how it relates to their own lives and dreams. It’s like watching a light bulb switch on.
It’s fascinating when students realize how the skills they’re learning can help them succeed. It’s not just about checking boxes on an assignment anymore – they understand why they’re doing the work, which motivates them in a whole new way.
Seeing that spark of determination and genuine engagement is what keeps me going. It reminds me that teaching isn’t just about imparting information – it’s about guiding students on a journey of discovery and growth.
These are the moments that bring real joy to my teaching career. They reaffirm why I chose this profession and remind me of the incredible impact that educators can have on the lives of their students. It’s a privilege to be part of their journey, knowing that the lessons they learn here will stay with them long after they leave my classroom.
Ultimately, teaching is about empowering students to reach their full potential and instilling a love of learning that lasts a lifetime. That’s where my passion lies, and that’s what makes it all worthwhile.
I can certainly speak to the joy that I experience while teaching, though I wonder (and worry) whether my students experience it simultaneously. For me, the joy comes in discussion, when we’re all absorbed together in one line of a Grace Paley poem or a Chekhov short story, going back and forth over the sounds, words, and ideas that resonate to each of us and why. One of my 101 classes last semester was over-enrolled, which allowed for a consistently robust discussion that was not just a pleasure to partake in but to witness. So, to sum up, I find students engaging deeply with the material I offer to be joyous. A number of my students seem (and speak to being) excited by the in-class discussion experience; I’m just not sure if they love it as much as I do?
Reflecting on this past semester’s MES153 Script-writing class, I’d say that there was palpable joy among the students when we read their scripts in class. Everyone but the scriptwriter gets a chance to read both the scene descriptions and the character dialog, and students are all in with the engagement. Even when the script needs a fair amount of work, it is clear that the students are cheering on their fellow students in the creation of the world of the story and the characters who populate it. It’s the joy that comes from creativity and the respect for the creativity of their fellow students. It’s quite moving.
I teach an Art History survey course which is discussion-based and focused on close looking at works of art together. Most students are new to Art History and I introduce thinking routines that we return to each week. This has supported the students in creating a community where they freely share ideas and feel confident in their ability to notice details and see what is in the work we are studying. Our museum visits were highlights and students were able to practice their skills and see work we had studied in reproduction. Many students had not been to an art museum before, or had only been once or twice, and the experience greatly enhanced their interest in our class.
A lot of the joy that I derive from teaching comes from connecting to and interacting with my students. I especially enjoy lively in-class discussions where students feel free to express their opinions, identities, and share their lived experiences. In my classes, I prefer student centered learning where instead of lecturing at my students, I guide them through a discussion to better understand a text/theme/idea/issue on their own.
A lot of joy can also be found in seeing students find the answers on their own and having their own lightbulb moments where the meaning of a text becomes clear to them. Guiding my students in developing their own critical thinking skills and seeing where they go is a very joyous experience.
Joy in my class comes from the freedom we experience together. Starting with syllabus day, students know they have agency over how the course will operate. I allow them to choose/craft their assignments and offer them the opportunity to treat it as a living syllabus with adjustments being available if they don’t like the way the semester is going.
I have found this typically creates trust in the class which leads to great conversations and an amicable vibe to the class. Granted, it could just be that a teacher who is willing to hold this policy also probably has a personality that garners it as well, but I like to think this sets the stage for a lot of openness and frank discussion in class. I typically have a lot of fun in my classes and some of the craziest stories will come out. We have fun.
On the topic of, Where the joy is in my syllabus: my syllabus is generated by the dept. It is written in a cold and neutral tone, a listing of to-do items. While I have the autonomy to change the tone, I have to admit I never thought about it until now. Additionally, I have also thought of the syllabus as a contract or a legal document ensuring my own legal protection.
There’s joy in researching and writing about a topic that was decided amongst students, in working collaboratively. Also in not having a traditional cumulative final exam as evaluation.
Sharing culture, music food, media among my students
The joy in my course is when I see the light bulb in my students’ minds light up. They smile, and they say, “Uh, hah!” They lean forward and ask more questions. They take notes and even challenge me on the material; they add examples from their personal lives while discussing the literature.
Joyful experience I had from teaching HUM 101: Introduction to Human Services is that to be able to hear and reflect on everyone’s lived experience of being a New Yorker, ie., what’s it like being a single mom with full time job in NYC, a first generation college student, a foreigner etc. And of course, if students comes up to me and tells me that the course helped to make a decision to pursue this career thanks to this course- that is the greatest joy of all.