Michigan State University is fortunate to have passionate educators who are committed to enhancing the experience of their students and who help to provide the best education possible.

The Graduate School is featuring some of these educators – graduate and postdoc educators – every month to share their unique stories and perspectives on what it means to be a dedicated educator, how they’ve overcome educational challenges, and the ways they have grown through their experiences.

For December 2023, we are featuring Ahlam Soliman, a doctoral candidate in the neuroscience program. In her writeup, Ahlam reflects deeply on her philosophy about what makes a successful educator.

What does it mean to be an educator at a university?  

As an educator at university, my perspective is profoundly shaped by both my teaching experiences and my Islamic culture. My role extends beyond the mere transmission of the information needed for students seeking high grades. Rather, as an educator, I strive to forge a deep connection with my students, offering a safe harbor for genuine advice, true appreciation, and non-judgmental listening. The sea-change in my perception was prompted by early missteps in my teaching career and valuable feedback from students and experienced faculty.

I discerned early on the huge responsibility I hold. Not only do I teach factual content, but I also embody certain values that students might aspire to adopt. Educators possess the potential to significantly impact students’ personalities and careers, underscoring the critical nature of the educator-student relationship.

Recognizing and embracing the diversity among students is imperative. Each student has unique motivations, beliefs, perspectives, and misconceptions. With this in mind, educators should be keen to create an embracing learning environment that leverages this diversity. Additionally, it behooves me as an educator to nurture sense of belonging into my students. That sense of belonging cannot be achieved without acknowledging everyone’s struggles, amplifying every voice, and considering each concern. I also emphasize that educators are not insurmountable and face similar struggles. This approach helps prevent many students from falling into throes of ineptitude and “imposterization.” In this vein, I want to allude to my favorite quote for Dafina Lazarus-Stewart that I learned in one of the teaching professional development workshops, “Diversity asks who is in the room? Equity responds who is trying to get into the room but cannot? Inclusion responds whose presence in the room is under constant threat of erasure?”

What challenges have you experienced and how have you grown from these?  

If someone had asked me that question years ago, my answer would have been dealing with “difficult” students. As I learned from Brené Brown in her book—I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t)—, “we cannot unravel the truth without recognizing the threads”.

After deep reflection I realized that “difficult” student is a misnomer whereby I place the onus solely on students neglecting my role in the learning process. Hence, using that term does not promote growth or cooperation. Therefore, I determined to dismantle this perspective by addressing underlying issues (threads):

1. Prior knowledge and entrenched misconceptions could forestall learning new content. Hence, I learned to identify those knowledge gaps and misconceptions early in class and then guide students through the new content. In that way, students gain the necessary information to refute the prior misconceptions.
2. Students lose interest and disengage themselves from class when they do not envision the relevance of class content to their lives or careers. I was impelled to reformulate learning materials and activities by emphasizing the connection between class and real life and practice.
3. Desultory instruction without clear course objectives and learning goals is sufficient to alienate students from the class. By employing backward design, I create a more effectual teaching strategies with predetermined expectations from students. In doing so, students steer their own learning autonomously to meet those expectations.
4. In addition to misconceptions, other invisible barriers like language, emotional barriers, or physical barriers hinder learning process if left unaddressed. One way to unveil those barriers is by soliciting feedback from students and engaging in dialogues.

By faithfully scrutinizing the aforementioned challenges and availing myself of these opportunities to grow as a mentor and educator, I became certain that the “difficult” student is a fallacious belief that deflects from addressing instructional deficiencies.

What value do you see in Teaching Professional Development?

When I started my teaching career, I held the mistaken belief that impactful teaching is inborn. Hence, when I floundered in the beginning, I was not certain whether I could cultivate my teaching skills. Indeed, I am beholden to all the teaching professional development opportunities afforded by The Graduate School at MSU. Workshops and seminars I attended collectively manifest that teaching and mentoring are skills that can be honed and acquired with dedication and the right resources.

These workshops provided practical, experiential tools to recognize students’ needs and motivations. In addition, eminent faculty at MSU shared their successes in identifying pedagogical challenges and overcoming them. Moreover, I have attended numerous workshops describing serviceable approaches to design student-oriented courses and integrate DEI principles into them. Above all, I got acquainted with other graduate students and postdoctoral fellows across campus who share the same interest. I have established a stronger connection with many of them that I hope would continue after we finish our degrees. Suffice it to say that without those workshops, articulating my teaching philosophy could have been challenging.

What is one piece of advice you would give other graduate educators?

To distill my experience, challenges, and mistakes into a single piece of advice is by no means an easy task. However, briefly I will try to highlight the key lessons that immensely transformed my perspective:

• Show your vulnerability when faced with a mistake. As I learned from Brené Brown, hiding behind shame screens impedes personal growth compounded by grave pain and isolation.

• As an educator, you are a perpetual learner. There is no cap for knowledge. Hence, embrace your shortcomings when certain aspects go awry. The path is bumpy and necessitates perseverance. When you are gracious to yourself, I can assure you will be gracious to others, which in turn engenders more compassion and connection with students and colleagues. I heard an Islamic scholar saying that we should be to ourselves as navigation apps; when we deviate from the path, it says “rerouting”.

• Listen to feedback humbly, especially from your students. Sometimes, their feedback will be the sole veracious one that adjusts your compass. In doing so, you exemplify the growth mindset. Constructive feedback is a guidepost that could protect us from making wrong-headed decisions. In my opinion, complacency could be the most ferocious foe to an educator.

What do you enjoy in your free time? 

During my leisure hours, I cherish time with my family—my husband and son—both indoors and exploring Michigan’s outdoor offerings or discovering new destinations when feasible. Our penchant for visiting landmark museums has earned us the moniker “museum family” among friends. In the winter when outdoor activities are limited, we bond over board games. However, my son has a growing predilection towards playing videogames with his father; a realm where my stamina wanes.

In solitary moments, books are my companions. I delve into genres spanning history, religion, and human psychology, aligning with my academic and personal interests.