The start of Victoria Pacheco鈥檚 college career this past fall was an adjustment from high school, but not in the usual ways.
The freshman did not socialize or explore campus. Her classes were online.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like to just sit back and take notes,鈥 Pacheco said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 absorb as much. I鈥檓 a hands-on and visual learner.鈥
Fortunately, she found a silver lining in her first-year seminar, a class in the Academic Success Center designed for freshmen and others trying to decide their major.
The class was online, but her instructor, Paige Johnson, insisted students keep their cameras on. Johnson required everyone to speak at least once. She encouraged questions, sometimes waiting through uncomfortable silences until someone broke the ice. Group discussions were a must. She also required students to join her regularly in virtual one-on-one check-in meetings.
鈥淭he check-ins were awkward at first,鈥 Pacheco said. 鈥淏ut I got a lot out of it. I started developing questions for her ahead of time and we would have really good conversations.鈥
Johnson calls her style 鈥渁ppreciative teaching,鈥 based on a method commonly used by college advisors 鈥 which happens to be Johnson鈥檚 former role. This approach is one of the research-based teaching methods showcased in this year鈥檚 Best Teaching Practices Expo. Johnson is one of the four distinguished presenters who will share their insights during an online panel discussion on Feb. 12.
As a college advisor, Johnson said she learned students often assume an adversarial relationship with instructors or with education in general.
鈥淎 lot of college students see education as a necessary evil, expensive torture,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淏ut if they feel a professor believes in them, really hears them, then they鈥檙e willing to dive deeper and find joy in it.鈥
The appreciative teaching approach calls for instructors to open dialogue, making room for 鈥渢hinking out loud鈥 and letting students lead in their decision-making.
鈥淢y No. 1 rule in class is that my students have to talk more than I talk,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淚 start with 15 minutes of presenting the topic, and then I turn the discussion over to them. I鈥檓 also really aware that students may be dealing with a lot of chaos during COVID, so if our discussions could stave off their misery for an hour, then they can make room for feeling empowered.鈥
Teaching students the power of inquiry is essential for students who are deciding the direction of their college education, she said.
鈥淧art of it is finding their major, and part of it is finding themselves,鈥 Johnson said. 鈥淢y goal is to provide an environment where they can have that honest discovery that enables them to be self-determining.鈥
Other aspects of the course focus on time management, study skills, civics, ethics, and health and wellness.
While Pacheco said she still hasn鈥檛 decided on her major, Johnson鈥檚 course helped her determine at least one path she doesn鈥檛 want to take 鈥 school counselor.
鈥淚鈥檓 thinking maybe communications or journalism or social work,鈥 she said.
