One key characteristic of a critical thinker is a sense of humility, especially given that the ultimate goal here is not only to make ourselves better thinkers but also to promote an ecosystem of critical thinkers around us. It is extremely important to recognize that we ourselves are no exception to the various problems identified in this class—e.g. acting from an urgency instinct, being fooled by misleading data visualization, or falling for disinformation/misinformation/fake news. For, without this recognition, one risks using the tools and theories learned in this class to judge or blame others for being lesser thinkers.
Storytelling is the best way I can think of to cultivate the needed sense of humility. So, the class would form a circle on some days, sharing stories of how each of us at some point of our lives committed some of the mistakes we just read. Not wanting to come across as a mere, unaffected observer in this activity, I brought my own personal experiences and stories to the table as well. But this can be a risky strategy. So, the following question was raised in the Student Learning Experience Survey conducted at the end of the semester. Answers were collected anonymously. Shortened excerpts are included below.[i]
Question 4. Prof. Lu-Adler occasionally brings her personal experiences and stories to the class. This is largely by design: she believes in authentic classroom and the power of story sharing. But she has no street data to show what, if any, effect this may have on students’ learning experience. Do you have any thoughts about the potential risks and/or pedagogical benefits of a professor sharing her/his personal stories?
Storytelling is what made this class effective for me. Anecdotal-based learning experiences make the concepts much more relatable and digestible.
Firstly, anytime a professor shares a personal story, the students feel immediately closer. This sense of empathy and trust becomes very important for students to put more effort and become more appreciative of the professor’s involvement in the class. … In this case, our professor’s Chinese origin also helps to bring out multiple national and cultural perspective which are imperative to critical thinking. We cannot think critically in an echo chamber! There are many international students in our class and we benefit much more from an international approach to thinking than focusing on the local and divided news.
a risk of doing this could be that students think that the professor talks too much about themselves; however, the way that Prof. Lu-Adler did this was very genuine and humble, showing that she really wanted us to think about how to connect the material to our own lives and wasn’t just talking about herself.
If story sharing is done in good faith and not added a political tone, then I feel that story sharing can definitely be beneficial.
considering that in this class we were very often asked to share our own personal anecdotes and stories as they related to the material, I don’t think there would be much point to excluding the professor from that specifically; she can act as just another data point.
I commend professors for making the effort to be aware of the many different facets that affect their diverse students’ identities, but I think many still lack sensitivity to the marginalized groups of students on this campus.
As much as polls and statistics may be more representative, the availability heuristic (which we learned in class) means that personal stories will almost always be more memorable, and I feel that they also help ground the material in reality to show that we aren’t just learning some abstract concepts that we will never be able to apply to real life.
probably my favorite part of this class has been Prof. Lu-Adler’s ability to share personal experience to drive learning in the class. … one of the greatest benefits/learnings from this class have been how I now have greater clarity and pride on what it means to be an Asian-American, both in the love of that part of my culture but also in the ability to think critically about how it has and continues to shape me. … I think that in creating vulnerable spaces in the classroom, we have actually been able to better grow as critical thinkers.
Especially your stories coming from China to the USA were interesting, because you could tell us about the implicit biases we hold. I appreciated those very much.
I think it’s a good strategy for establishing a personal connection among the professor and students. This allowed us to be vulnerable in front of each other.
It is interesting in the context of the course too, because it highlights how important stories are to our thinking, even if, as you say, it is not always the most statistically accurate approach.
the sharing of personal stories during this course … was illustrative of the concepts addressed by the course. … the story and opinion sharing that occurred in this class was a two-way street between professor and students, leading to a freer exchange of ideas and greater comfort in class discussions of tense issues.
Professor Lu-Adler’s experiences were extremely pertinent to what we were learning-her experiences of being exposed to Chinese propaganda and news were great examples for us to study when exploring topics like fake news/human heuristics/eco-chambers. I am skeptical that many other professors that would be nearly as applicable on these topics, but I think a professor bringing in examples is generally fine.
Personal stories make the material feel immediate and relevant; there is a clearer understanding of how these concepts interact with the world beyond the classroom and give the professor credit for being in touch with their material beyond what it takes simply to teach it.
When we learn a new theory, I like to understand how it applies in our lives, so when the professor brings up personal stories to link them to what we are studying, I can see that our class is connected to the reality and, thus, is important.
I think Professor Lu-Adler’s stories are some of the best moments of the class. Her positive outlook on life inspires me to continue to strive to reach my goals, especially considering her background as an immigrant, which reminds me of my parents’ backgrounds, and as a woman of color. Her honesty during class encourages me to be more open with what I share.
It makes it easier for the students to share their true thoughts which is of very high importance in a class such as this.
[i]Although the students’ responses are generally positive here, I should add that this approach may not work in a different class or even in a future iteration of the same class but with a different group of students. I took a similar approach in another class (a higher-level course for philosophy majors) and conducted the same survey, but with mixed and in some cases very negative responses.