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The Faculty Chronicles (TFC) podcast, sponsored by the Touro Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), is about building community, connection, and conversation. It will bring to life the stories behind the great works of Touro faculty, across disciplines in all our schools, focusing on classroom innovation in teaching and learning, science, business, medicine, education, wellness and more.
00:00:00:02 - 00:00:24:09
Elizabeth
Hello, everyone. Welcome to a new episode of The Faculty Chronicles, sponsored by the Tara Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning. I'm Elizabeth Rooney, co-host of this podcast from the Tara College of Pharmacy in New York. Today, we have Barry Fleisher with us as the guest. She's a chair of graphic arts and design with Tara University in Chicago.
00:00:24:11 - 00:00:52:10
Elizabeth
After receiving her B.A. in Fine Arts from the Northeastern Illinois University and her MFA in Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. She's currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Disability and Equity in Education. She has over 20 years of experience in teaching and developing curriculum. Today, she'll be talking about using art to engage higher education learners. Welcome, Barry, to the podcast.
00:00:52:12 - 00:00:54:04
Bari
Thank you very much.
00:00:54:06 - 00:01:02:23
Elizabeth
To start with this podcast, can you tell us a bit about your journey at Toro, when and where you started and where you are now?
00:01:03:00 - 00:01:28:11
Bari
Absolutely. So I began my journey at Toro around seven years ago when I was asked to come in for a meeting to consult on a new graphics class at what is now currently the Sarah Hartmann Women's College of Tara in Chicago. And I consulted which turned it into an offer for an adjunct job in graphic arts. And then one thing led to another, and I built a major and I wrote 13 original courses in the department.
00:01:28:11 - 00:01:54:24
Bari
And that's how I became the chair. I also helped foster a grant within the system in conjunction with the Rolla Foundation for Education in the Performing Arts. And I created a program geared at inclusion and the performing arts for girls and the Jewish community, both with disabilities and mainstream. And we currently have 95 participants from first through ninth grade and employ 12 over college students as their educators.
00:01:55:01 - 00:02:17:02
Bari
And we teach them how to incorporate different modalities of learning to put on a production at the end of every school year. And finally, this led me to my doctoral program, and I was offered a leadership position here as the student services coordinator, where I help our students navigate collegiate life network, resume building, and get them set up to enter the real world.
00:02:17:04 - 00:02:38:00
Elizabeth
Well, that's a lot of hats you're wearing. So the one thing that you said is that you're also working with the student services or leading the student services. And the one thing you will be seeing in student services are the divorce learners in higher education. And the question is, why should a faculty member think about this particular topic?
00:02:38:02 - 00:02:43:09
Elizabeth
The diverse learners in higher education and how we can help them.
00:02:43:11 - 00:03:05:20
Bari
So as we know, when I think most of the people who are listening are in some capacity dealing with students, each and every one of them is different in their own way. This is because of their upbringing, their interests, their home, social lives, culturally, some more. Additionally, it's because everyone has their own way of learning and has instructors, professors and role models.
00:03:05:20 - 00:03:33:17
Bari
We need to be aware of this. So I remember back in my early education days where I was the K-3 art teacher at a private Jewish school here in Chicago. This student in one of my boys classes, it was a third grade classroom. I remember him, you know, since he was in first grade. We worked together and as he aged, symptoms and issues became more apparent and eventually he was diagnosed with ADHD.
00:03:33:17 - 00:03:59:08
Bari
And I remember sitting down in these meetings with teachers and hearing how they spoke of the student, looking at him as just the label of his disability rather than what his ability really was. And that's where I feel like this background needs to come in because we all have our own way of learning. And so when I sat in on these meetings, my heart, it hurt for this child because his parents didn't want to medicate him.
00:03:59:10 - 00:04:19:12
Bari
His teachers didn't want to cater to his learning style or adapt any curriculum for him. And I remember a time where I was approached by the teacher who would ask how the student was doing during my class. I had a sheet to fill out and at the end of every class I never had an issue. So I would sit with the student and ask what his interests were.
00:04:19:14 - 00:04:39:22
Bari
And, you know, based off of this and taking the time to do so, I would change the project to engage to his interests while still achieving the ultimate goal for assessment. And I didn't do this with just him, but I prided and I still prided myself on knowing about my students, where they come from, what their successes and failures are, and how to utilize that knowledge.
00:04:39:22 - 00:05:03:00
Bari
Within my teaching. Sure, it takes time, which I understand, but it is totally worth it. So the student went to fourth grade and he approached me in the hallway during his first weeks of school. Now, in fourth grade, they didn't get as much time to do art anymore, but he found me and he thanked me and he told me how much he missed seeing me.
00:05:03:02 - 00:05:25:15
Bari
And I got down on one knee to be on his level and I asked him how this year was going thus far, and he told me it was just okay and he wished I would come to spend more time in his class because I was the only teacher that listened to that. And this was a profound experience for me because it ignited something within myself and it drove me to think about why this student felt like he was unheard.
00:05:25:17 - 00:05:51:22
Bari
And I realized it's because teachers sometimes don't take the time to look at who these students really are. And while I do it, it strays from the norm. So why weren't more teachers like this? And this is what drove me to pursue my doctorate. And this past year, I took courses in the histories of race and culture and education and I also took courses in the epistemology of knowledge.
00:05:51:22 - 00:06:17:20
Bari
And I could go on and on about all of the historical approaches within the classroom. But these courses really informed my practice because they taught me which I already was doing. But even further, how to look at the student, whether it's a child or an adult as a whole, rather than box them in a nice package into a norm.
00:06:17:22 - 00:06:45:24
Bari
And of course, so much as entangled when you truly look at the histories of education dealing with race and culture. However, it is so incredibly important to do so. And when we look at a student for their ability rather than their disability or for their straying from the norm, rather than trying to fit them within it, we can understand and relate so much and engage them within our classrooms.
00:06:46:01 - 00:07:05:13
Elizabeth
While that is really impactful. So you said about using art. So can you tell us a little bit more about it? How can one use art to address this issue of diverse learning experiences? Give us a couple examples of how to use art in a classroom.
00:07:05:15 - 00:07:33:16
Bari
Sure, of course. Well, with what I just spoke about, I think it's important for us as educators, whatever level we teach out, to look at the diverse individuals within our classrooms and to realize each person has their own contextual situation that exists outside of the classroom. And when we do this, we can stray away from predisposed ideas of norms and labels and truly learn about who these individuals entering the class are.
00:07:33:18 - 00:07:58:05
Bari
We can look at the why rather than just assume what's happening. One of the ways to accomplish this great task, and I will call it great because there's a lot involved, is also why I study it so near and dear to my heart. But it's to utilize the arts within the classroom to engage these diverse learners. And I'm not saying diverse learners based on ability.
00:07:58:06 - 00:08:24:16
Bari
I'm not saying diverse learners based on differentiation in learning modalities. I'm saying it based on the individual context of each person entering the classroom. And it's not just utilizing the arts within the curricula, but within our approaches as educators. So I think it's important at this point to define what the arts actually are, because everybody has their own predisposed ideas.
00:08:24:16 - 00:08:54:22
Bari
So I'm going to take a moment to do that because the arts encompass fine arts. So your basic traditional art, strong painting, sculpture, etc., they also encompass other things that you may not realize, like drama, performing arts, improv, poetry, spoken word, narrative and more. So everything from English to speech to pre-med incorporates some aspect of arts utilization. Whether you realize it or not, your day to day interactions also utilize the arts.
00:08:54:22 - 00:09:21:13
Bari
I mean, think about the conversation we're having now. We're basically improvising because you can't predict what I'm about to say, and I can't predict what you're about to say. Additionally, in our conversations, whether we're teaching or talking to a friend or speaking to a child, we use tone and intonation in our practice. So imagine a professor who uses a monotone voice, and I, of course, will keep bringing this up because I think it's so important.
00:09:21:15 - 00:09:45:20
Bari
But what do we think happens with the engagement in a classroom when a professor uses a monotone voice, usually a plummets. So we must learn how to internet project, use facial expressions and all people can't see me on a podcast. They sure can hear my voice. But we use these things to relate and express topics. What, which, what we're trying to convey.
00:09:45:22 - 00:10:08:18
Bari
So even as a collegiate instructor, because I'm sure many of you listening are aware of these important factors in elementary education, but they are so important in higher education as well. Think about the way you're dressed now. I'm the Ms.. Frizzle of higher education, and you don't know if you don't know who Miss Brazil is, please Google it.
00:10:08:20 - 00:10:31:18
Bari
But I know not everybody is. But you can somehow dress a certain way to promote who you are. That still applies to the role model you're trying to be. But as a personal element, when you think about yourself as an instructor, an administrator, a doctor, a chemist, a playwright, we're all playing a role because that's who we are at the time, but not who we always are.
00:10:31:20 - 00:11:01:13
Bari
We're multifaceted, but so are our students, and we each have a role to play in these scenes. So when we look at the arts, not only can we play these roles and use inflection and intonation, we can use them to promote empathy. So we can use a project. For example, let's take an English course to describe a situation or somebody's background within a qualitative narrative, and we can skew the project at hand to better understand our students relationship to material.
00:11:01:15 - 00:11:21:24
Bari
Let's say we're reading a historical novel about race, and then we ask our students, rather than recalling the story itself, to relate it to their own experience. Not only will we as instructors be learning about our students, but the students can utilize critical thinking skills to relate to the material being taught and apply it to a real life context.
00:11:22:01 - 00:11:44:18
Bari
It doesn't just apply to English, it doesn't just apply to the arts. We can think about it in other capacities like pre-med. So for example, as future doctors and nurses, individuals within your classroom will need to learn bedside manner. At least I hope they will need to learn bedside manner. So utilizing the arts is important. For this. You must learn how to express empathy even when you take away words.
00:11:44:20 - 00:12:07:15
Bari
So with your body language, with your facial expressions, and once you start creating the discourse with your tone, you can also utilize the arts in something called the flipped classroom dynamic. So think about if you gave a topic, just a general topic to your class and ask them to create a project in their own subjectivity and manner, what would come out from it?
00:12:07:17 - 00:12:40:22
Bari
What would we learn about our students from looking at this and what would they be able to learn from each other? Now, I'm of course not saying that you give complete free rein to your class because that is not the goal here. But goals and assessments are necessary. And if you're clear in your delivery of exactly what you're assessing on, if you give the student the power to relate to the curricula, you're allowing them to critically and contextually think and to process in their own unique and individual ways based off of their context.
00:12:40:24 - 00:13:13:06
Bari
And we can learn so much about other people when we do this. And it also allows for the students to be seen and heard in ways that written and testing assessments don't. It provides both intrinsic and extrinsic benefits. I mean, I could go on for hours about alternative assessment modalities, but that's not the purpose today. But when we engage our students in the arts, whatever concept we come up with, we're learning about the contextual situation of races, genders, cultures and individual nuances that make up these people.
00:13:13:08 - 00:13:24:15
Bari
We're not just looking at them as another person on our rosters, but we get to know them and who they are, and in turn they want to work harder because it shows that we care as instructors.
00:13:24:17 - 00:13:45:22
Elizabeth
Wow. When they first started talking, I was just thinking, Well, I don't know art, but I think I explained it very well. Using your voice or are you seeing that facial expressions are bringing a personal element to the class? You're actually using art in the class. But again, for the listeners who are listening to this, they may still not be very sure about how to use it.
00:13:45:24 - 00:14:01:17
Elizabeth
Are there any resources or tech talks or anything that they can go to listen to it, or is there any book that they can read about it to get a little more understanding about how to use art in their classroom? Anything that you can recommend?
00:14:01:19 - 00:14:30:01
Bari
I have tons of resources and I can give just a few at the end, but I think it's important to realize not everyone's trained in the arts, but it's also important to realize that you don't have to be because some of the arts that you incorporate are part of being human. So as I said before, you know, using facial expressions when you engage with your students rather than keeping the same demeanor, I understand boundaries, but we're humans too.
00:14:30:03 - 00:14:55:05
Bari
You can use inflection when you speak and not boring students with a monotone voice. So I know. Did you know that musicality or in this circumstance intonation sets off a different part of your brain, which retains more information? I mean, that's pretty cool and just by inflecting your voice, you can incite that within your students and within your presentations, your PowerPoints, your lectures.
00:14:55:05 - 00:15:19:12
Bari
Throw in a funny slide with a me. Why? Because it shows that you can relate to that. I'm on a different level means I'm the new thing. Throwing a funny comic or an image that contextually relates to the material you're learning. Insert a joke within your chemistry lecture. I mean, I have so many of them I could say right now, but I'm going to save everybody from my dad humor today so very grateful about that.
00:15:19:14 - 00:15:44:04
Bari
But we have lives both within and outside of the classroom, and it's important for them to know a little about us as well. After all, we're spending so much time with one another. I mean, ultimately, there needs to be this built up relationship between you and your students or you and your patient or you and your parent or child or whoever you're dealing with.
00:15:44:06 - 00:16:07:20
Bari
And you might be sitting there asking, well, how can you do this in a hall with 500 students? But you can by doing what I started previously. It makes your students understand that you are a person you can give them specific examples relating to your lecture that contextually apply to you or contextually apply to them. In order to promote that at our engagement, you're going to realize that not every student walking through the door is the same.
00:16:07:20 - 00:16:36:07
Bari
Maybe somebody comes from a different cultural background. Mr. Busse didn't eat breakfast that morning. Whatever the situation is, as you were there to make them feel welcomed and provide a safe environment for learning that is open and welcoming and basically incorporates all the contextual backgrounds and situations from where they come from. And by promoting that you too are human will help build that relationship.
00:16:36:09 - 00:17:09:21
Bari
So in terms of resources, there are there's this book that I absolutely love. It's called Barrier Free Theater, and it was written by Sally Bailey. She's she got her Ph.D. from Kansas State University. And I actually went there for a brief moment during my undergrad. So I feel like I relate to it a little bit more. But it is all about utilizing the arts to be more inclusive of different abilities and different style learners.
00:17:09:23 - 00:17:38:21
Bari
And while it does speak specifically about theater, you can use your critical thinking skills and you can apply them to your classroom. But there are tons of TEDTalks. I mean, if you go to TED.com and then type in utilizing the arts or alternative modalities of assessment, I just wrote a giant paper on alternative alternative modalities of assessment utilized in the arts.
00:17:38:23 - 00:18:17:04
Bari
There are so many resources, even on Google Scholar, that you can take these instances, these concepts, and apply them to your classroom, to your practice. It doesn't just be about the arts, it's about the relationship of the arts and how you can engage these diverse learners in your classroom to better reach them. And the engagement is not just about them participating, it's about them creating an atmosphere to become more of a community in your classroom and to understand about one another and then relate it back to the material you're teaching.
00:18:17:06 - 00:18:40:05
Elizabeth
Wow, That is that's very powerful, you know, to be a community of learners and understand each other or learn from each other and along with that, learn the material. So that's very, very powerful listening to all these things. The one thing that's going through my mind is that one of the things that we keep hearing these days, especially for faculty, is borne out, right?
00:18:40:05 - 00:19:03:20
Elizabeth
We're hearing a lot about lack of work life balance. Everybody's working a lot. So in an era like that, when we are going through this stage of burnout and work life balance issues, how will you encourage faculty to stay connected first with themselves and then with their students? What strategies do you think we can use?
00:19:03:22 - 00:19:39:00
Bari
So, I mean, there are a lot of strategies, but I think it's important that we all know we just went through a pandemic and the post-pandemic student is very different. So we can look at things like truancy, defiance, this respectfulness, disengagement, mental health issues, which I'll come back to because that's a whole other subject, but willingness to participate, interpersonal skills, social awareness and communication skills, all of these are very different within our students.
00:19:39:00 - 00:20:06:20
Bari
But what we also need to realize is that the post-pandemic educator is there with them. So when we look at the students as having detriments, what we're doing is we're really missing the mark. We're scheduled to the maps balancing a million things and we're burning out quicker than ever before. So I feel like it's so important to be honest with yourself, but I also feel like it's so important for you to be honest with your students.
00:20:06:22 - 00:20:38:03
Bari
And while I'm definitely not saying like, tell them everything or just hand out A's to everyone that walks within your door and seem to look at the context of someone before passing judgment and your self included. So within my practice, I promote and advocate for mental health. I encourage students to visit the school counselor, and this is both as an educator and as a student services coordinator, or to consult an external therapist.
00:20:38:03 - 00:21:04:12
Bari
And I use within my practice both inside and outside the classroom. I use arts as a way to process. So if I see a red flag in my classroom, I'll see what I can do within the next project worksheet presentation, whatever it is to use the arts to accomplish this task. Because not only is it going to help the person process the information, it can help process any insight, ease any depressive episodes that come out of it.
00:21:04:14 - 00:21:44:01
Bari
I'm not saying I'm completely trained in this area, but I have been working on this for many, many years. So I know what these red flags are and I also know how to manipulate the material within my classroom. And it doesn't come easy. It takes time, but ultimately, if the students see that you're a human and that you're expressing care or concern, they're going to connect with you better, which creates a whole new classroom dynamic and an open discourse where people can relate to the contextual experiences of what is happening both within and outside the classroom.
00:21:44:03 - 00:22:14:19
Bari
It also helps promote better interpersonal relationships with each other that are important to students. Success. So while we all want to be successful, sometimes we need to take a step back and assess where we are to better grasp what we're capable of. And sometimes as their role models, which is what we are as their instructors, it's our job to inform them that we understand, and I'm sure we've all been there at one point or another, but we understand and we too are human.
00:22:14:21 - 00:22:27:03
Bari
Burnout is real. And if we're honest about it, which I am with my students, it builds these relationships to promote a better learning environment.
00:22:27:05 - 00:22:48:22
Elizabeth
Wow, that is quite some amount of information that you get was on a topic of using art in the class, whether it is in English class or whether it's in medicine class. It does not matter. We can use it in any kind of curriculum as long as we put our focus and energy into it. But thank you so much for this wonderful talk.
00:22:48:22 - 00:23:01:06
Elizabeth
I'm really hoping the listeners will reach out to you probably and get some more ideas and tips and strategies to see how we are using these things. Once again, thank you so much.
00:23:01:08 - 00:23:06:02
Bari
And thank you so much, Elizabeth, for having me. This was absolutely amazing.
00:23:06:04 - 00:23:13:06
Elizabeth
Thank you. Thank you to all our listeners signing off, Elizabeth, on your podcast host and in the next episode.