Something I was really struck by on the microteaching day reminded me of some teaching I had observed in a session led by an academic colleague, supporting from a library perspective. In different ways the two experiences highlighted the power of carefully chosen examples when illustrating points or demonstrating skills. This is something I had not really thought much about in the past, and often when demonstrating aspects of the library catalogue I would try to choose somewhat innocuous ‘neutral’ examples from recent student searches – based on my assumption of the technicalities and efficacy of the search as the more important and interesting aspect.
When attending sessions run by a colleague I noted that they gathered materials relevant to areas of their own research as examples, openly discussing their progress and interests in research, and also introducing some more personally resonant materials and talking through aspects of their human connection to these resources. I noticed at the time that this seemed impactful to both the students and myself and I think I just banked it as an aspect of their own interpersonal style, rather than thinking of it as a pedagogical choice. Much as Barton and Wilcocks (2017) describe objects in a learning environment as encouraging ‘personal meaning making’ I am now wondering if perhaps well-chosen illustrative examples can function similarly, and realising that what I had observed was a conscious teaching approach.
On the micro-teaching day one of the participants in my group, again teaching about a more technical subject matter, chose very impactful examples. This time not so much on a personal level, but rather newsworthy and impressive in anecdotal and cultural ways. Again, I thought about the impact of well-chosen examples in garnering engagement and in demonstrating potential for impact beyond the immediate task. This seems particularly useful when the subject under discussion is perceived as process oriented, in an environment where other content competing for student time and attention is often highly visual and engages the more of the senses. By choosing examples that show the ‘use’ of the research-skills and the research tools in a way that demonstrates meaningful ‘transformation …[beyond] …simply what we are aiming for’ the ‘point’ of the exercise is clearer (Ahmed, 2019, p.22)
This has encouraged me to think more strategically about the examples I am choosing to illustrate simple technical skills, and to vary them, steering away from more neutral, pedestrian, and meaningless examples. By creating an additional layer of interest and connection with the skills being demonstrated and discussed, whether by introducing some more personal interest or information from myself, or by tapping into something that is of more general news or cultural significance, or even an example that is simply amusing or a shared topical reference I hope that the some of the technical, skills-based learning will be more engaging and more memorable than when it is framed purely for efficacy and efficiency.
References
Ahmed, S. (2019) What’s the use?.Durham: Duke University Press.
Barton, G, & Wilcocks, J. (2017) Object-based self-enquiry: A multi- and trans- disciplinary pedagogy for transformational learning. Available at : https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/75 accessed on 29/01/2025