It has been several months since the READI course on Interactive Teaching in Actuarial Science, and it feels a little bit like a dream, it was such a whirlwind experience. In this post I’ll try to collect some of my thoughts about how it went and what I learned.

On the first morning, I met my students for the first time at breakfast, and then we headed to the seminar room. The room had a projector, a small whiteboard, and a pair of flip charts, which worked well for what I had planned. I organized the students into groups of 5-8 people each to facilitate the discussion phases. I had them all make name cards by folding a piece of paper – if I had planned ahead and brought proper ones that would have been better.

Takeaway 1: Plan what materials you will need and set up & test the space ahead of time.

I had planned most activities to be working on things individually, then sharing with partners, and only occasionally a larger group discussion. But after realizing most of the participants already knew each other and were comfortable in group discussions, I pivoted and let all the group activities involve informal table collaboration. I also encouraged them to have their discussion in whatever language they were most comfortable in, although there was always at least one person at each table who was comfortable in English to act as an ambassador for their table.

Takeaway 2: Work within the group dynamic that exists, and leverage their relationships and skills.

At every session, there were many people coming in late. Not wanting them to miss out, I usually waited until everyone was there before starting. I was frustrated by the situation but didn’t want to impose my own expectations of punctuality. However, I received feedback that many would have preferred I just start at the designated time and not wait. I thought there was a cultural norm different from my experiences, but I was mistaken.

Takeaway 3: Be aware of cultural differences and if you’re not sure, ask don’t assume!

Many of the participants had concerns about the amount of prep time required to implement the teaching practices I was presenting. I was surprised to learn how much more demanding their teaching load is compared to a Lecturer at UW. So I drew a summary chart listing all of the activities we discussed with: what material it might be useful for, how long it takes to plan, and how long it takes to implement in class. This allowed the participants to strategically choose activities they can realistically incorporate into their teaching, given their time constraints.

Takeaway 4: Give your audience the tools to make your content work in their context.

Every session had a “Try It” component where we would discuss or implement the ideas, except for one: I had planned to do one session describing various activities, and then a follow-up session to try them. But midway through the descriptions, I could tell everyone was losing their focus. Instead of pushing through, I called a break early. When we returned we looked at the remaining activities and discussed using them all. I should have anticipated that listening for so long without trying things (and at the end of the day, too!) would be a disaster.

Takeaway 5: Practice what you preach! If you’re telling people that certain techniques are worth using in their classes, they’re worth using in yours! Don’t succumb to this pitfall.

Right at the end of the first day’s sessions, my laptop stopped working and was irreparable. I was able to borrow one from the READI staff, and luckily I had sent my slides to a coworker just for her interest before heading on the trip, so I had a mostly up-to-date version I could access. I should have emailed them to READI, had them on a USB, and on my laptop.

Takeaway 6: Plan for things to go wrong! Bring your materials in at least three ways.

When I was describing how I use classroom response systems, one participant mentioned they used Kahoot, and several people said they had the app for it. That night I downloaded the app and imported some of the actual questions I use. The next day, we tried it in the first session and it went great! Someone asked if I could share the questions (as well as other resources I had mentioned) so when I got back to Waterloo I put a variety of materials up on: https://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~dkchisho/READI/.

Takeaway 7: Use technology they are familiar with, and provide additional resources afterwards.

At the end of the second day, while discussing how to get meaningful feedback from students, I had them do a “stop-start-continue” exercise on my own teaching. I read the feedback that night and in the first session of the next day discussed what I would be changing. This demonstrated the importance of not just gathering feedback but acting on it. The suggestions for improvement were mostly things I could easily adapt, such as speaking a bit slower and writing bigger on the whiteboard. I wish I had asked for feedback after the first day though, so I could have fixed those things earlier.

Takeaway 8: Ask for feedback at the first possible opportunity – there may be small changes you can make that will improve everyone’s experience.