<aside> 🌅 My vision on learning: to become less dependent and more autonomous. My vision on teaching: to facilitate an environment where we all learn.****
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I’m a designer, researcher and organiser working on postcapitalist politics, commoning practices and climate justice campaigns. I work at the intersections of creative production, radical politics and eco-social transition. I co-developed disobedient action campaigns (Climate Games, Shell Must Fall) and co-initiated social housing cooperatives (NieuwLand, de Nieuwe Meent). I have a PhD in Cultural Analysis on postcapitalist design, was the 2022 Artist in Residence at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture, and I teach New Earth under Social Practices at Willem de Kooning Academy.
While I have some experience in facilitation, training and mediation in activist contexts, I am new to formal educational settings. For the past two years I have been teaching eco-social design theory and practice to 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students from a variety of disciplines. Last year I found myself leading the New Earth programme and had the opportunity to redesign the entire curriculum. I am now eager to reflect on my practice and consolidate my skills.
I often deal with bleak, frightening and complex issues of ecological collapse and our future prospects. I feel the urge to prepare the students to take an active role in the unprecedented ecological/political/economic transformations ahead. I see my role as giving my students hope, drive and motivation to tackle such challenging issues. [see Lesson Plan for a sample] This inevitably requires a combination of knowing the past, sensing the present and imagining the future. No small task!
I am aware of my qualities as a lecturer: I can hold space with drama, humour or imagination and I usually have an infectious level of passion, excitement and enthusiasm. I don’t hesitate to add (thought) provocations, surprise and delight to my work. I am aware that my teaching style most definitely stands out as idiosyncratic. [see 360º Survey for more reflections]
However, I often wonder: Are my qualities enough to leave a lasting impact (emotional, intellectual, relational) on the students' personal development? How do I ensure that the students aren't just entertained, but that the learning 'sticks'? In short, how do I effectively become a transformative educator with the limited contact hours at our disposal?
The purpose of this portfolio is to document, reflect on and improve my teaching/learning practice over the last two years, as a snapshot of my personal development. My courses have evolved iteratively, as I have adapted the content to changing expectations, student feedback and new developments. I hope that the Basic Qualification in Teaching will enable me to make self-evaluation and improvement a constitutive and continuous part of my teaching/learning, in order to become the best teacher I can be.