Synchronous (Onsite) Reflective Teaching Practice Research Report/Paper (25 mins Onsite)
Learning from others without shame: Reflections on collaborative caring in teaching practice
Collaborative caring is “creating relationships that honour the connections and the space [students and university teachers] need to more effectively continue to develop our capacities, insights and talents so that we might come closer to fully realising our personal and professional potential” (Sumsion, 2000, p.174). I believe it is important to take a care ethics perspective on collaboration in education. In discussing the aim of education, Noddings (2012) argued for a shift in focus from high test scores to that of helping students discover their strengths and purpose in life, which means that cooperation should be prioritized over competition. In this presentation, I seek to extend understanding of collaboration by drawing on my experience of collaborative caring as a lecturer in Singapore’s English teacher education. I refer to anecdotes from my English classes and qualitative student feedback I received between 2019 and 2022 to deduce the impact of caring methods.
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Dr. Teo Shi Ling was a primary school teacher before her professional development journey led her to become a lecturer at the English Language and Literature Academic Group in the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NIE, NTU). Shi Ling received her Ph.D. in English Language at the National University of Singapore. Combined with her training as a sociolinguist, Shi Ling was given the opportunity to consider the theory, practice, and identity issues in education. Her current teaching and research areas broadly focus on language and identity. More specifically, she is interested in language (e.g. linguistic knowledge and communication skills) and the development of a professional teacher identity.