Everything I have learned and experienced I have acquired through social movement organising, often imperfectly called 'activism'. The meeting facilitation methods, decision-making processes, conflict resolution techniques and non-violent communication habits used in social movements are in turn inherited from critical pedagogy traditions. I incorporate into my teaching elements such as hand signals, spectrum lines, fishbowl discussions, elicitive questions, world-café breakout groups, consensus-building stages, etc.

It is worth noting that the politically charged and engaged approach to teaching is not at all unwarranted: on the contrary, my programme coordinator had indicated that it was an important factor in my recruitment. Another colleague had also complimented me on having "effectively radicalised the students with my activist approach" in one semester. I am therefore confident that I am making a positive and relevant contribution to the Social Practices Department.

On the other hand, I have little experience and knowledge of established or innovative didactic principles, tools and vocabularies. I believe reevaluating and repurposing my experiential teaching methods through the lens of state-of-the-art educational paradigms will provide me with self-confidence, critical distance and increased effectiveness. These will also enable me to assess my own abilities and challenges independently of my self-perception.

As an educator, I want to create a learning environment that is as engaging, meaningful and challenging for my students as it is for me. Rather than exposing students to facts and figures, I expose them to stories, experiences and imaginations that will broaden their horizons, develop their critical thinking skills and hopefully instil a passion for lifelong learning. Following on from what I learnt during the didactics course, here are some of the key principles that I try to put into practice:

• Aligning teaching and assessment: Whether I am designing a syllabus, a lesson or a single activity, I try to ensure that learning objectives are clear, teaching methods are accessible and tasks are achievable, so that assessment can be consistent, meaningful and relevant to students' lives beyond their grades.

  "Assessment tasks should require students to do something with the knowledge they have acquired." (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 86)

• Constructive Alignment: By using this framework I want to ensure that students are motivated and engaged because they have a full picture of what they are doing and why. This includes being open to adapting the content to meet the needs and aspirations of the students.

• Understanding prior knowledge: In order to guide students into uncharted territory, I must first meet them where they are. I take the time to get to know them so that we do not waste anyone's time or lose anyone in the process. Between the comfort zone (= too easy) and the panic zone (= too challenging) lies the sweet spot that is conducive to learning.

  "Students are not empty vessels waiting to be filled; they are people with experiences, knowledge, and skills that they bring with them to the classroom." (Rendón, 2015, p. 17)

• Active learning: Although I can easily talk for two hours, my role is not (only) to entertain or inform the students. By engaging them in games, discussions and creativity, they are more likely to retain information through its emotional imprint.

  "Learning is not a spectator sport." (Biggs & Tang, 2011, p. 65)

• Feedback and Feedforward: I am committed to providing timely, specific and actionable feedback to students. I combine my appreciation of what they have done well, what they can do better and what further opportunities are opening up. I try to ensure that they are more motivated than before, or to allow them to digest, reflect and chart their own way forward.

• Reflection: Whether it is a check-in/check-out moment in class, a collective evaluation/debriefing session at the end of a cycle, or an anonymous survey afterwards, I encourage students to reflect on our collaborative learning/teaching process. Ideally, this will enable them to identify what they have learned and how, and in turn provide valuable input for improving my teaching.

  "The best teachers are those who continually question their own practices and try to improve them." (Hooks, 1994, p. 167)