Saturday, March 25, 2017

On the Edge of Comfort

I have a magnet in my office that says “Life starts at the end of your comfort zone”. It is situated to be easily noticed by anybody who comes to visit. The other day, I pointed to it as I was trying to convince one of my students that she did the right thing when she accepted the summer internship at Harvard Medical School, where she will be far outside her comforts zone away from her family and friends. She was uneasy. We talked about growth and what it means to remain open to opportunities that you know will propel your career and change your life, even though they make you feel like a fish out of water. We talked about how she has the entire Biology department backing her, how we will support her and be there for her, how her family will do the same, how to find the strength and grounding to go out in the world and to be who she is with confidence in her abilities to navigate through obstacles. To truly grow you have to push boundaries. Most of the time, when I try to share some wisdom with students, I know that they don’t listen or take my advice to heart, but this student wrote down those words from the magnet (she didn’t just take a picture!) and has come back to thank me. Each time she enters the office I see her eyes wandering over to rest on that sign.
Learning new things can take you outside of your comfort zone. Writing this blog is definitely way outside of my comfort zone. Ever since I failed a writing assignment in Swedish class in high school, I have doubted my writing skills. In addition, I’m not one of those people who likes to post things on social media to share with the world. I’m not sure why – I just don’t have a need to put my life out there. So, this blog is an opportunity for me to grow and push boundaries. I’m trying to stick with it just to force myself to write more and share more of who I am with you. But back to learning: Maryellen Weimer, who is a fantastic blogger, shared her thoughts on the subject last Wednesday in a post titled Learning Outside Your Comfort Zone. She writes:
“I wonder if learning outside the comfort zone isn’t especially difficult for faculty. Theoretically, it shouldn’t be. We’ve devoted years to learning, but most of what we know resides in one area. We’re experts at learning more about what we already know and love. And we’re used to having our learning expertise recognized—by students, colleagues, and sometimes even at home. However, plop us down in a discipline unlike our own, task us with learning a skill we don’t have, and suddenly, we look and act exactly like our students. And that’s the very reason this kind of learning has all sorts of positive implications for teaching. It’s good every now and then to be reacquainted with feeling stupid.”

I especially like the last sentence “It’s good every now and then to be reacquainted with feeling stupid.” Our students may move from classroom to classroom feeling stupid as we get to stay in our comfort zones orating “wisdom” all day long. When was the last time you put yourself in that place? On the other hand, maybe our students are too comfortable with our usual, predictable ways of teaching, how we always do the same things in our classrooms (I’m definitely guilty here – why fix what ain’t broke?). The most comfortable students may be so comfortable that they sleep through your classes or spend the entire class in the digital retreat provided by their phones without engaging with any of the class material. Moving towards the edge of that comfort zone could change the classroom experience for both you and the students. Are you ready to try? What would you do in your class to take students outside of their comfort zone? When did your teaching and learning last provide the opportunity to push boundaries and approach the edge of comfort?
Here is the link to Dr. Weimer’s post:
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/learning-outside-comfort-zone/?utm_campaign=Faculty%20Focus&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=48383015&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_4kibZEs_MsviN2x6-5V5UxUqw5fBOxtcjGFOU3m7KP1XlIl1BYHYSaiSuMaicTnAvKDsNuw9YJkxo3VgCyoRIRLmVBA&_hsmi=48383015

8 comments:

  1. These are interesting quotations: “Life starts at the end of your comfort zone” and “It’s good every now and then to be reacquainted with feeling stupid.” I believe they are both false; because they are based on gross generalizations and admit of exceptions; and, thus, (are) easily falsified by events that can be drawn from the news as reported from all over the world. Besides, they are subjective and dependent on persuasive definitions of key terms such as "life" and "good."

    I admit, however, that they both make a point about the utility of experimentation and, hence, serve as a useful guide or tool in life. The point, as far as I can see, is that of the value of exploration; isn't it? There are, needless to say, many instances in which people have endangered or even lost lives as a result of acts of stupidity or going outside their comfort zone. Aren't there?

    Safro Kwame

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    1. Kwame, as always, you make some excellent points. I am so happy that I can trust you to faithfully comment - even when my post is late. You are correct, of course, there are people who have lost their lives by going beyond their comfort zones and taking unfathomable risks – maybe not because they embraced feeling stupid, but because they didn’t want to admit that they were approaching stupidity. However, there are numerous others who never reach their true potential because they are stuck in their comfort zones, never even getting close to that edge, too scared to change the life as they know it and passing up great opportunities for themselves and humanity. As it relates to teaching and learning, I do believe in trying to take the perspective of the students to create more meaningful and engaging learning experiences - even when it takes you and/or your students to the edge.

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  3. “Life starts at the end of your comfort zone” - It is bound to happen if you try it out – Who knows Magic could happen in uncomfortable zones!!

    I feel that students doing math which are uncomfortable can make their learning more rewarding if teacher helps them to step forward to do math on board or makes them to participate in class. Many students have anxiety in math and they do not want come out of their mind blockades thinking some may laugh at them for exhibiting their stupidity in class. At times, pulling such students in groups or making them to work with a student who is good in math could make some difference.
    Dr. Kwame made his point. Thanks Dr. Anna Hull.

    Rnjan N. Naik
    Math.

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    1. Thanks Rnjan for your thoughtful comment. There is a big difference between pushing boundaries and making students feel uncomfortable in areas around which they have tremendous anxiety. Math is especially anxiety provoking – there is no doubt about it; I see it in my classes all the time. I think this is where it is refreshing for us to go outside of our comfort zone to try to learn something new and foreign that forces us to feel “stupid”, so that we can relate better to our students.
      I also think that it is important to help the students recognize what it is that specifically makes them feel uncomfortable - maybe start in the comfort zone and walk slowly towards that edge. If the entire class is at the edge together, it is bound to feel much less scary. This is where creating classroom community comes in. It sounds like you are doing the same by creating groups in which the students feel more comfortable and can learn from their peers. In the end, it’s about engaged learning. A student with a mind-block will shut down and not learn anything at all.

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    2. Anna, I agree. Thanks.

      - Ranjan Naik, Math
      (Misspelled my name, sorry)

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    3. Wow! You misspelled your own name, Ranjan? Very funny! I assume it was a typo.

      Safro Kwame

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