Being a lecturer is like being...a fridge

Like a fridge is full of many different food groups, 

I am full of many different types of knowledge. 

Just as within a fridge there is a variety of food within each group, 

so too do I contain a variety of facts and information. 

Just as where you shop will affect the quality of food in your fridge, 

so too does where and how I learn affect the quality of information I carry. 

Different students will take different things out of me, 

and like different foods can be combined to make a meal, 

so too will different information be drawn on to make ideas. 

Some of this will come back to me (like 'leftovers'), 

adding to, and changing, what I have to offer the next hungry student.

I wrote this metaphor of of myself as fridge, as part of a class exercise designed to have us reflect on how we view ourselves as teachers, and the idea of a fridge really resonated with me. I may not be there yet, but this is certainly what I am aiming for - a collaborative hub for learning. A place of learning in which the power dynamics are flattened and student-ownership of the process is encouraged. 

The course I am attending (seaTEACH) has been especially put together to help part-time university lecturers (like myself) to explore concepts around teaching and learning and better develop ourselves as teachers. This blog will provide a space for myself, and others, to reflect and engage with that journey.