Past Event: Learning Community: Teaching as Embodied and Communal Practice (4 sessions online - 10/23 & 30, 11/6 & 13)

While we may often think of instruction as an abstract and intellectual endeavor, how we inhabit the classroom cannot be decoupled from aspects of who we are emotionally, mentally, and physically. So, what does it mean to bring your whole self into the classroom? Should you even bring your whole self to the classroom? What are you left to process after teaching? Your body’s relationship to teaching extends beyond the lecture, seminar, lab, or section you might teach. Perhaps your positionality within your department has put you in a position with a lot of emotional labor. Perhaps you leave the classroom physically feeling exhausted, but unsure why as you “only” taught a class. Perhaps you question how to be transparent and authentic while also wanting to maintain a level of privacy that feels comfortable to you. Perhaps you feel isolated in your teaching practice and long for conversation and community. This online learning community invites instructors from across disciplines to explore teaching as an embodied and communal practice. We will reflect on how a pedagogy of wholeness can shape how we show up in the classroom and consider how we can foster connection both with our students and fellow instructors. Through readings, group discussions, and multimedia, participants will engage with questions and reflections about how to healthfully engage with teaching as it concerns one’s own mental, physical, and emotional health, but also as a practice that is tied to community. For questions, please contact Yasmeen Asali (yasmeen.asali@yale.edu) or Alexandra Dreher (alexandra.dreher@yale.edu).