We've talked some in class about how teachers in ICON are facilitators. What do they facilitate? How is what they're doing similar to writing center approaches to teaching writing?
I always thought that all teachers were supposed to be facilitators of learning, on ICON or off. In a way, ICON seems a little more one-on-one than a writing center, since a student gets individualized feedback from a grader, has a chance to voice his or her specific concerns, and gets a chance to rate the grader's comments. On the other hand, students receive individualized feedback in the form of grades even if they only have one teacher. They may or may not get the forum to be able to voice their concerns beforehand or afterward. I suppose, too, that students are more likely to voice their concerns in a non-confrontational situation where they don't really know the grader or have to look the grader in the eye. It is also true that dividing up the grading (should) allow more time to be spent grading each paper.
I have to admit, although it isn't far enough into the semester to really be able to tell, that I prefer the way I taught at A&M. I had one class of 25 students, I learned all their names, I created all of their minor assignments myself and I gave my own version of the instructions for the four major papers, I read all of their work, and I got to know each one of them better through it. I feel like through ICON, you do lose some of that, because you don't get to follow each student through and keep an eye on all of their work. To me, not getting to walk the students through the whole way makes things less one-on-one and, honestly, makes me feel less ownership for my class.
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Personally, I like the non-confrontational setting. I guess you do remove some of the human element (to quote PBS) from the classroom by doing this but at the same time the students are free to voice their thoughts without fear of repercusion.
Although, I must say I do not like the fact that you do not get to guide your assignments. That I do dislike, a standardized assignment that you can't...well, mold I suppose. I really liked writing my own lesson plans when I taught. It gave me the opportunity to push myself and the students. Makes one much more creative to design your own assignments/projects.
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I do agree with Beatriz that ICON does remove the human factor in a dialog to create a more unbiased platform of discussion. But I do understand that losing the human factor between teacher and student may not be the best educational setting for all. I too would probably be searching for an element of ownership for my classroom. As the product of a very small university, the human element is what I would hope to impart to my students.
Does ICON offer any ways that a CI can "personalize" their classroom experience?
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