Chris Korte and Ares Kalandides are lecturers at NYU Berlin. In this blog post they share their thoughts on the constantly evolving generations of students and on what it means to teach at NYU Berlin.
Ares: I was still a student when I started teaching and I recently realized, not without a certain shock, that this was 40 years ago! At first, I thought that my sole purpose was to transfer knowledge – from me to the students. However, I realized early on that knowledge is not something that you transmit from A to B, but that teaching is a two way process with many bypasses and diversions. You develop a relationship with the students and through that you support them in their own learning experience. In the past few years, that relationship has become even more important. Today I feel that a big part of our teaching resides in our capacity to forge relationships with our students. Of course, students may choose to imitate or reject you, follow your steps or take a completely different path, but it is that connection that defines how they will learn what they will learn. I am not saying that being knowledgeable as an educator is not important, not at all. But beside knowledge it is that personal connection that makes all the difference.
Chris: I too have gradually shifted my approach to teaching from, as you say Ares, “believing that my sole purpose was to transfer knowledge,” to a concept of facilitating (rather than teaching). This is to say that I try to create a space for student-centered learning and exploration, guided by student interests. Each student brings invaluable knowledge, passion and interest into the classroom space and I try to use this as a starting point for the engagement with the material we work with. My objective is to create a framework for students to get the most out of the material, which means that I have to adapt my approach to who is in the class as each student is unique. I have abandoned the idea of one ideal outcome for students or our class. Everyone’s learning journey is unique. We encounter our students at a particular point in their lives that impacts their relationship with the material. I love to imagine scenarios with my students about how the material may be of use in 2, 5 or 10 years down the road. In sum, I would say my experience has taught me that students are motivated by what interests them at this juncture, and to attune to that. [Read more…] about Chris Korte & Ares Kalandides on teaching at NYU Berlin