Design Forward
An emergent exploration of critical instructional design.
Design Forward
Portfolio Part: My Favorite Exercise So Far
Student Biography
My Favorite Exercise So Far
In this exercise you will explore the stories and lives of your current students. You may choose to write a biography (incorporating the elements identified below) or you may choose to draw or otherwise represent a student (again, finding some way to incorporate the identified elements). Be as specific as possible, but think of your imagined biography as an amalgamation of students, rather than the actual biography of an individual student you know:
Elements to include:
- Name
- Hometown(s)
- Childhood education experience: type of school attended, typical grades, relationship with teachers, overall impression of what school is for z Family background: How may parents, siblings, etc. Who do they live with? Who do they have close relationships with?
- Interests & hobbies
- Declared major(s) or minor(s)
- Future life goals
- Stressors and obstacles
- Opportunities and comforts
Cam
Generic town, Massachusetts
Attended an all boys Catholic high school just to play on a sports team there. Good, not great, grades. Took non-rigorous classes. Good relationships with teachers (he has good social skills, and also understands that academics was necessary to athletic success). School is to learn, but less prioritized than sports. Good, supportive nuclear family with siblings. Close with family and friends.
Interested in sports and future career goals. Business major with sales minor who wants to work in the sports industry. Dreams of being a sports agent one day.
Obstacles include his past of never investing fully in academics and his dream of working in an industry with an impossibly high barrier to entry.
Opportunities and comforts = me!
When you’re done, write 1-2 paragraph reflecting upon the student you have created. Where did you get your inspiration? How is this student like/different than you were as a student? As a teacher, what do you think are the 3 most important things you can do for this student?
I really appreciate this exercise. Wow. This one made me think deeply.
This is a real student who, in so many ways, is very different than I was as a student. Cam has a different socio-demographic and educational background than I have, and has very different ideas about school than I ever had. I was a good student, focused on learning and the journey. As a student I liked reading and discussing the substance of my courses. I sat in the front row of every class I ever took. Cam is a back row resident who sees education as a means to a specific end. He does not care about the reading or the journey other than its usefulness as a tool to get him where he wants to go.
Cam is a dreamer though. And a very BIG one at that. I really like this about him, and find that I enjoy having students who are motivated (in any fashion).
The three most important things I can do for him:
- Explore offering him an independent study for a course on Sports Agency
- Give him the confidence he needs to go for this big dream.
- Leverage my networks to learn more about the industry he wants to join.
Stay tuned…I intend to update this one.
