Benefits of the CIQ
I have alluded to some of the benefits of the CIQ. Here I will explicitly summarize them using, for this report, the five benefits highlighted by Stephen Brookfield (1995).
Nothing can be more frustrating to me than to feel like I am continually dealing with course crises retroactively or learning at the end of the course that learners had major issues with the course but did not bother to tell me. The CIQ provides a regular avenue for learners to express how they are experiencing the classroom without directly requiring public feedback. For example, I learned that previously successful course activities may not be successful with honors' learners. These learners were particularly resentful of activities they perceived as "childish" or too elementary. I have dropped some of these activities and I have changed how I present others. One such activity turned out to be a rousing success and I learned why they liked the activity (e.g., it was fun, it broke with routine class formats, it really showed the different forms of organization, etc.).
- Promotes Learner Reflection
How many of us take the time to give learners the opportunity to really explore how they change as learners and human beings over the term of a course? The CIQ provides an opportunity for teacher and learner reflection. I found with my routine use of the CIQ, journals, and portfolios, that most learners, even those resistant to the end, report important insights into themselves both personally and intellectually. Some reported that they had no clue that others in the class thought the way they did about class practices. I was also struck by how the simple recognition of differences in experiences allowed students to ease the pressure on themselves to "be like everyone else."
- Legitimizes Diverse Teaching Practices
Often I find that my rationalization of pedagogical and curricular choices falls on deaf ears. Providing summaries of CIQs or bringing information from them back into the discourse of the class is an effective way to legitimize those diverse practices. The CIQ is hands-on evidence to learners that reality warrants different teaching and learning strategies.
Routine use of the CIQ is one of several ways I have of building trust in the classroom by legitimizing learners' private concerns when making them public in a constructive, caring manner. The more I can demonstrate the philosophy of collaborative learning, the more I increase the probability of successful teaching and learning.
- Unique Window into Our Own Development
I will admit that more often than not I would just as soon not know what the learner is thinking and feeling about classroom practices on a weekly basis--my own story is much safer and I am certainly too often over-inflated. Teaching 50 honors learners provided me with some of my most challenging moments in 21 years of teaching. I learned how hard it is for me to fight emotional blackmail regarding grading, how lonely it can be to hold different opinions about class content and issues when groups of learners live in their own communities, and how, after all this time and recognized excellence in teaching, I still deeply question my ability to teach and worry far too much about what learners think of me. I also learned how to be better partners with them, learning that many will resist nontraditional teaching methods but that with time most will come around. I learned about the kind of hands-on examples they need to succeed in class assignments. I learned once again that class group activities need to be closely monitored in an effort to encourage everyone to participate. I learned that some students actually prefer lectures not just because of the content but because they enjoy seeing how someone else presents material. Mostly, I learned not to take anything for granted. To do good work as teachers, our classroom practices should be based on informed choices and the effort is well worth it.
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