I was gutted to read that the wonderful Dr Natasha Taylor is posting the last SoTLwalk The June SoTL Walk: Our final ramble! – Elemental (rmit.edu.au). So if you have some time join in on the Padlet or on Twitter with the #SoTLwalk hashtag and help celebrate Natasha’s wonderful initiative, which has helped bring people together, and have something to look forward to every month during the pandemic.
Without further ado here is my last #SoTLwalk post (for now?):
“As the SoTL Walk series comes to an end, we wanted to explore how, when and why we ‘stop’ doing things in teaching and learning. Practice is always evolving, so how do you decide which activities to stop doing? What are the signs that things aren’t working? How do you ensure that successes are remembered and used to inform future ideas/activities? Is there anything you just cannot let go of, no matter what? Does stopping mean closing the door forever? “
–Dr Natasha Taylor
Evolving Practice
I already stumbled over the first question! I am not sure I always consciously decide to keep or let go of things. Sometimes things just fall by the wayside–don’t stick. I think that’s one of the signs of something not working, I won’t make time for it, am not invested. Overall I understand practice as a fluid space, ever changing, but then again not at her core. My work is value driven, these haven’t changed in principle, maybe just became more sophisticated or differentiated? Something I noticed just recently when sorting and weeding out this blog. Oh also my English has improved quite a bit.
Remembering Success
It is so important to celebrate, one another and our own successes. I think here, it is important that we are conscious of our internal monologues. When something worked, you obtained positive feedback, you enjoyed a session thoroughly. Celebrate it. As one of my friends regularly tells me: write down right now how this makes you feel so you will remember! And DO NOT give air to the little voice in the back of your head that wants to diminish your success, by a comparing what-aboutism with others, by trying to convince yourself it’s not a big deal or whatever that sneaky voice tries to convince you off.
Keeping note, taking screenshots, reflective journaling are my go to keep notes and let success inform future practice methods. On that note handwriting reflection is something I cannot let go off. Trying to break structures that won’t permit dialogue I won’t let go off. Creating open spaces for coming together I won’t let go off.
Stopping and Letting Go are two Different Things
Letting go usually means the door is closed for good. Stopping–as in pause–keeps the door ajar. I just found an old post about learning spaces from 2014, a topic which at that point has accompanied me for 8 years, and now I have this firmly rooted in one of my courses, built into a theoretical framework, matured and developed further with my partner in crime. The theory paper is going into print soon. So it’s been a very long journey for that theme but just picking it up again, with other themes that were on pause for quite some time.
Adventures in Academic Development 