#MATLUPB 2016–2022 — Thanks for a great run!
(A final commentary by Dr. Berry himself!)
I decided to invite Mr. Mojo Risin’ himself to this conversation. This column symbolizes the end of an era that started at the end of 2015. The course Methods and Approaches in the Teaching of Languages, in its original format and title, is no longer part of our teacher education program. The course has morphed into Methods and Approaches in the Teaching of English (with a counterpart about Spanish) and is now a course students take in their seventh semester (as opposed to a fifth-semester course as #MATLUPB used to be). The overall topics and activities will continue, but the course will need some downsizing due to credits (#MATLUPB was 6 hrs/wk; the new version [#MATEUPB?] is 4 hrs/wk). This is part of program evolution and I wanted to use this final post as a sendoff and a moment of gratitude for the journey.
The 2016–2022 era was actually my second run with #MATLUPB. I first taught this course between 2011 and 2012, when I was an instructor in our distance program on Saturdays. That initial course laid the foundation for #MATLUPB: I kept some topics but made quite a few changes to the assignments over the years. Interestingly enough, the course had been phased out of the curriculum in our teacher education program at the time I started as an assistant professor in 2011 (the distance version was from the older version of the curriculum, though). They added Methods and Approaches around 2014, with mixed success, and later they asked me to take over the course and update the syllabus.
When I took over #MATLUPB, I knew I wanted to blend theory and practice in this course. I wanted the young teachers taking this class to learn about past and current trends in English teaching, so we looked at the history of approaches and methods. Later, we discussed the idea of communicative competence. I also wanted a discussion of what to do in the classroom, grounded in readings and conversations with other teachers, which became the third unit. I also added some important debates in the field, first as a unit and later as the bookend to the units once I added a unit on literacies. That was also the drive behind the Demo Weekday activities: I wanted students to hear from scholars in schools and higher education and learn from their experiences. The Demo Weekdays were very successful, judging by students’ reactions and some of the commentaries here.
For the assignments, I wanted to propose activities that would involve reflecting on our teaching and experimenting with language and technology. Different activities included writing lesson plans for other teachers, reflective essays (as was the case of this column), and creating social media posts to share tips and ideas for learning and teaching (#TeachLearnHacks).
From all the assignments, two stood out: first, the Slam Poetry exercise. I’ll never forget all my students’ bewildered looks when I first told them about this assignment…
The idea of doing slam poetry/spoken word was foreign to them and some did it reluctantly at first. But, every semester, there was this magical moment we called the Slam Poetry Festival, where we watched and listened to some of the poems the students created (always volunteering). We watched, listened, laughed, and we always cried. I always told the class that there always was that one poem that broke us. There was always that moment when a student poured their soul into their poem and we were in absolute awe at the beauty and power of their words. And again, we cried and felt deep emotions and I know that empowered my students, that moment for many was the discovery of all the power they had when they wielded “The Most Powerful Weapon in the Universe, more powerful than Mjölnir, more powerful than Excalibur, more powerful than the Infinity Stones…. the word… for the right word at the right time can send you to heaven and the wrong word at the wrong time can send you back to hell” (Dr. Berry). Using slam poetry at #MATLUPB was one of the highlights of my teaching career.
The second salient assignment was the capstone project. I decided early on that I didn’t want to have a final exam or an “objective test” to end a course like this. There may be a place and a time for tests, but #MATLUPB wasn’t going to be it (and yes, THAT was a hill I was ready to die on if it ever came to that… it never did!). I wanted the capstone project to be a moment for creativity, to question our craft and think of better futures. I experimented with multimodality for this one, sometimes asking students to think about best teaching practices, others mocking some of the teaching techniques they see advertised (“edufomercials”), and sometimes just asking them to take stock about the kind of teachers they wanted to be and the educational system they wanted to advocate for. Every version of the project was a space that students honored with their hard work and passion. We had projects that students did in small groups, some versions split the class in half to carry out and in one case, we did it as a whole group event (I say we because I intervened in the final video editing).
I still remember every semester I taught #MATLUPB because it was a tremendous learning experience for me. I also took the challenge of teaching #MATLUPB seriously. I know some students were afraid of me for multiple reasons (and several commentaries addressed that), some didn’t know what to expect when the #wackyguywithafro showed up, and some had reservations about the course. I always made sure they got my full attention and commitment. That also meant constantly checking my craft: I had to make sure I wouldn’t repeat myself too much, this meant revising and updating the readings, the supporting videos, the way I delivered the classes, etc. (You can check the record of what we have done since 2017 on Twitter. Click here or use the hashtag #MATLUPB).
During the classes, I indulged in some “Dr. Berry-isms” such as “Treat knowledge like you treat pizza,” rehashed the classic “Don’t be like Pikachu, evolve!,” I reminded students, “Improvisation is the most advanced form of planning,” and many others. I’ll let students who read this post to share what Dr. Berry-isms they remember in the comments. As I said, every class was special and unforgettable, but I need to give four shout-outs:
- To the students in the first semester of 2016, as they were my guinea pigs, so to speak. Thanks to their feedback (and patience!), I turned a course that students didn’t take seriously at first into a course students started little by little looking forward to. This first experience molded what #MATLUPB was years later.
- To the students in the first semester of 2018: I think the GIF below will explain what that course meant for all of us:
3. To the students in the first semester of 2020: The pandemic hit us in the middle of the semester and we all had to recalibrate everything. It wasn’t easy for the students, but they remained committed and our capstone project was testament of that collective effort.
4. To the students in the second semester of 2022: You were the last cohort to take #MATLUPB and that means a lot to me!
I can’t look too far into the future. I know that I will be teaching something else entirely next year, and I’m excited about that. Will I teach the new version? Who knows? I guess we will cross that bridge if/when we get to it. For now, I wanted this blog to be a celebration of what all the students who took the course did and learned and all that they taught me during this seven-year run. I also want to take a moment to thank all the friends who dropped by my class via Zoom to share their experiences with us. There are so many to mention, so you may as well check out the LSLP in Session webinars for some samples. Your presence enriched the class and taught us valuable lessons that will strengthen our teaching.
To all the students: Thank you for registering in #MATLUPB with me. If you didn’t register, this course wouldn’t exist. If you and our program hadn’t trusted me to lead this course, I wouldn’t have taught it. I don’t take those choices lightly and they have reaffirmed my choice to be a teacher educator. All I have in this moment, as this little teaching cycle comes to an end, is words of gratitude and appreciation to you all. The moments we shared in our campus classrooms and on Zoom/Teams are beautiful memories. The work you did in the class activities and the assignments inspired me beyond belief. I always like to say that “I’m just a dude doing the best I can with the cards I was dealt.” Well, this dude that you call Dr. Berry is very grateful of what we did at #MATLUPB. So, let me say:
Thank you so much! | Muchísimas gracias! | Tusen takk! | Muito obrigado! | Merci beaucoup! | Bardzo dziękuję!
Oh… and one last thing… this one is for my students…
Unless you have another blog to post here… GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!
Much love to you all, from Dr. Berry, The Dr. of Patronomics!!!!!
