Arloene has been a faculty member in the Psychology department at Camosun College for 10 years, and this last spring was a recipient of a Camosun College Teacher Recognition Award.
Arloene reflected that if someone had told her 20 years ago that she would be here today, an instructor in the classroom, she would not have believed it. In fact, she twice turned down requests to teach, but when she received a third request, she figured something must be going on. “I had worked as a TA when I was in university, but at that time, teaching was just a means to an end.” This time, once Arloene got into the classroom, she was hooked.
A few years later, a friend of Arloene’s mentioned that there was an opportunity to teach for Camosun through the South Island Partnership (SIP), and she decided to give it a try. “I felt so out of my element because I had never been trained to teach, but here I was delivering curriculum. It was terrifying but gratifying at the same time.” When she finished her term, she thought that would be the end. “It was too much work, but at the same time, it was fun. I was still working professionally as a therapist, but once I started teaching one course, then another, I ended up shifting to teaching full time.” Now Arloene is excited for the beginning of every new term. “I see teaching as not that different from when I worked as a therapist, because it’s about growth and helping students to feel inspired.”
Today Arloene no longer teaches in the SIP program, but has continued at Camosun in the Psychology Department, teaching Counseling, Interpersonal Skills, and Developmental Psychology courses, among others.
I asked Arloene what she likes most about being in the classroom, and she said for her, it isn’t the teaching, but “the connections, the relationships, and getting to know people. And it’s the little hallway chats, running into students in the cafeteria, and just checking in hearing their excitement and their questions and their stories – I love the stories.”
But knowing that for a period of time we lost access to those hallway connection, I asked Arloene about the impact of the past three years on her teaching. “It’s so funny because that first semester back in the classroom, I had students saying, oh, that’s what you looked like! While we were online, we lost those conversations and connections and the support that as humans we all need. I know some students enjoyed the online experience because of how it might have fit into their lives, but for me, the enriching parts of teaching are those connections.” But Arloene has brought some of what she learned and used while she taught online into her teaching today. “I’ve always done writing exercises and reflection journals, and those became especially useful online because those were their stories. They were personal, and an essential piece to getting to know my students. I also started using online discussion groups and today have more discussion groups in-person, but the discussions are less content-based than they might have been before.”
I was sure that Arloene would have many memories of her past students and their experiences, and indeed she did. “In one my SIP classes we had a student with a lot of anxiety. But one of the requirements was doing an in-class presentation, and she did not want to do it. I am always gentle with requirements and honour that people have different ways of being and learning so try to provide alternatives. However, I’ve also feel that it’s good to challenge yourself. So, we worked with this student, provided support, and in the end, they gave an amazing presentation. It was fantastic to see someone go from self-doubt to challenging themselves and being successful. All we did was give the student a gentle nudge, provide support, and give them the opportunity to do their best.”
Arloene had one more memory to share about the classroom community she values so much. “I had a student with severe epilepsy who often in class would have a seizure. It was a class of 40, and we had a plan of what to do if she had an episode in class. Those students worked together and supported her – it was such a community where everyone came together, and she was able to complete the class.”
As we moved towards the end of our conversation, I asked Arloene what advice she might have for new faculty coming to Camosun. “I would really encourage new instructors not to lose sight of what excites them. It’s easy to worry about the curriculum and the learning outcomes and forget about what sparks us. I know for myself there’s been a few times I was more concerned about outcomes than the excitement of the content.”
I was curious how Arloene keeps that spark going herself during those times when there is so much content to cover you lose track of the engagement. “Sometimes when I’m talking in class, I tune out and go on autopilot because I’ve said this thing many times over the years. That’s my little red flag to move away from talking too much, to having more opportunity for dialogue and hearing different opinions and perspectives.”
I appreciated Arloene sharing that, because one of the things we wonder in our Centre, with each other and with other faculty is, just what is our role these days as instructors? “That’s tricky because there’s so much content students need to learn, how do we help them not get overwhelmed or lose that foundation of critical thinking,” how do we help students navigate their way through all that information? Arloene tries to give her students opportunities to explore what is important to them which in turn “ignites interest from others because it may open up something they hadn’t thought about before that may be personally relevant.”
To conclude, Arloene reflected on her role as an educator: “I continue to be open to growth and the opportunities that life presents, particularly as aligned with my values. I hope that this affords me the opportunity to be a model for students to choose a meaningful life while being open to new directions.”