Prof. says USU culture affects teaching
It was a difficult transition, Doris McGonagill said in her Friday lecture, to teach at USU because of the challenges working with the dominant culture. McGonagill, an assistant professor of German, is in her second year at USU and in that time has made a strong impression on Ann Austin, professor and director of the Center for Women and Gender.
During her work as vice provost in the 2009-10 school year, Austin was asked to take the new faculty, which included McGonagill, out to lunch. During the lunch, Austin said she was impressed with McGonagill.
“I saw what a careful thinker she is and how fair she tries to be with everybody,” she said.
Later, Austin said the provost wanted to use a panel of three professors to speak to this year’s new faculty about the challenges and highlights of the students at USU. Austin recommended McGonagill, who intended to focus on how the dominant culture at USU affects teaching the students, in both good and bad ways. Though the provost had some initial reservations about the subject matter, Austin said he “raved” about McGonagill for some time afterward.
“She saw what a strength the student culture has,” Austin said. “She is a great example of a wonderful academic.”
After the positive reviews of her work on the panel, McGonagill was asked to give her own lecture about her experience teaching at USU and how she feels culture affects teaching, specifically language teaching. In her lecture, McGonagill focused on three main points of difficulty: the make-up of the classroom, the students’ other responsibilities, and the religious background shared by a majority of the students. Though she was concerned about the boundary between upholding religious freedom and being an effective teacher, she said she found the students were “so sincere in their wish to learn.”
“Our classes might make them engage in uncomfortable material,” she said. “I think that’s important for the cultural experience and the literacy, but I also think it’s important to show respect for the spirituality of the students.”
McGonagill said in her experience, it is possible to discuss nearly anything, but some materials, approaches and treatments of topics need to be modified.
“I think the most important thing is to give students the right tools for critical analysis,” she said. “What I have tried to bring is a respectfulness and a mindfulness.”
From the beginning of the semester, McGonagill said she tries to make sure the classroom is a safe place “to bring one’s personal beliefs.” Along those lines, she discouraged teachers from shying away from intellectual discourse, but to be aware of which tools of interpretation and materials the students are already familiar with. McGonagill shared an experience where a class was discussing Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and she later realized the students were arguing points based on an LDS interpretation, not the classic text she was assuming.
“It is my responsibility to be aware of that,” she said.
McGonagill strongly recommended teachers utilize the tools available in Blackboard. She said it becomes a discussion tool and encourages teamwork, “almost tricking them into working on the material.” Since one of the main challenges are the familial and religious obligations outside of schoolwork, she said Blackboard has been instrumental in extending contact time with the students while giving them a way to study with their peers in a more timely manner and without using valuable classroom time.
She said she has also learned to be “explicit” about her expectations and have a firmly structured syllabus.
“I believe the result was a new enthusiasm,” she said. “I think it eliminated fears that I might have ominous and obscure expectations of them.”
McGonagill said making the classroom a safe place for ideas and beliefs helps the students learn.
“Students are best in and learn best in an environment that is supportive,” she said, “where they don’t have to worry about losing face if they make a mistake.”
Part of that supportive environment, she said, is creating a platform where students can discuss new ideas and possibly change their thoughts in some areas.
“I believe to have experienced how the discussions in the classroom can have a profound impact on their beliefs,” McGonagill said. “It has let me question some of my own assumptions and beliefs.”
Above all, McGonagill encouraged both teachers and students in attendance to come into the classroom with open minds.
“We have to try to put aside our biases,” she said. “These moments were the most rewarding and most stimulating. It transcended the study of a language and a culture.”
-k.vankdyke@aggiemail.usu.edu