I'm a bit of an aberration (or at least my schedule is) in terms of when the courses I teach begin and end in the program in which I am working. First of all, the college in which I teach runs on terms rather than semesters, meaning that the grading period is 6 months long instead of 15 weeks as is much more traditionally the set-up. On top of that, courses start and stop at various time points during a term, based on a multitude of factors. What that means for me is that the term I will begin teaching one course in February, and two more in April, the latter two being taught to two different cohorts (first-year OT students and second-year OT students).
On another front, I am two weeks into the semester in the two classes I am taking as a doctoral student, and so I can relate to what my students may be about to experience in navigating a new course syllabus, buying textbooks, entering due dates for class sessions and assignments/tests into my calendar, etc. I once had a classmate who compared the starting of a new class to climbing into a bed with new linens on it. I am not sure that I am in agreement with that metaphor, but I understand the feeling of starting anew. I hope that I am able to both put my students' minds at ease - to transmit a "we're in this together" message to them from early on in each course - and spark their interest in learning the subject matter at hand. That's my goal for the next couple of weeks at least ... I am a teacher at heart, and there are moments in the classroom when I can hardly hold the job. When my students and I discover unchartered territory to explore, when the pathway out of a thicket opens up before us, when our experience is illuminated by the lightning-life of the mind - then teaching is the finest work I know." ~Parker Palmer
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AuthorStephanie Lancaster, EdD, OTR/L, ATP is an occupational therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience. As an associate professor, Stephanie trumpets the value of teaching and practicing in the field of OT in an "out loud" manner. Archives
December 2021
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The Outloud OT |