Instructor Shares Guide to Improve Teaching Through Self-Awareness

Elizabeth Norell, associate director of instructional support at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning , shares why and how inner work improves teaching and learning in "The Present Professor: Authenticity and Transformational Teaching" (University of Oklahoma Press). Released Tuesday (Dec. 3), the book is part of the publisher's Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed series.

"The book gives faculty the opportunity to lay down the armor that they put on in graduate school and let themselves experience authentic relationships in classrooms, finding greater peace and joy in their teaching," Norell said.

"If you can bring yourself more authentically into the classroom, it's so much more fun and it's more effective."

It is a fact: most teachers are stressed.

Feelings of burnout, health concerns or other personal stressors are common among educators. But minimizing or ignoring stress can influence teaching and learning, the Ole Miss instructor explained.

"To pretend that what's happening in our personal life will not affect us in our professional life is ludicrous," she said.

"The point of the book is to help instructors get past some of their own insecurities and stories they're telling themselves when they go into the classroom so that they can devote as many of their cognitive resources as possible to being attentive to the students and what's happening in the moment in the classroom."

Her book underscores the power of being present and how authenticity results in more meaningful learning. It also provides strategies for educators to improve mental clarity through practices such as meditation.

The book is a "research-based roadmap" to help readers better understand themselves and the value they bring to the classroom.

"Liz's book arrives at a crucial moment when educators are feeling burned out and are questioning the purpose of teaching," said Joshua Eyler, director of the CETL and clinical professor of teacher education.

"Our students simply learn more effectively when they are genuinely connected to us as human beings and when they truly believe that we care about them as learners and as people. Liz reminds us of this throughout her book and provides us with strategies for making these relationships more meaningful."

Understanding the importance of student connection is paramount for educators, Norell said. She calls these relationships "engines of education."

"This is not something we are often taught in graduate school, nor is it something you see in a lot of books about teaching, but there is such a deep truth to it," Eyler said.

Besides more than 20 years of higher education teaching, Norell has also logged more than 500 hours as a yoga instructor. "The Present Professor" combines multiple areas of her expertise, such as in pedagogical strategies and mindfulness, to help educators narrow the gap between their lives inside and outside the classroom to foster a greater sense of trust among students.

This, in turn, energizes the education process, she said.

"Teachers who go into classrooms assuming the students are trying to get one on over on them are going to see student behaviors like falling asleep in class or looking out the window, doodling, knitting or getting up to go to the bathroom a lot as evidence that students don't care about learning," Norell said.

"When we're present, we can notice when a student is struggling with a concept or their body language suggests they're not OK. Instead of making a judgment about that, we can get curious and ask questions because we're not caught up in the swirling thoughts of our head."

Students, staff, faculty and community members can register to attend the CETL's book launch celebration and discussion with Norell from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Friday (Dec. 6) at Butler Auditorium in the Triplett Alumni Center.

Top: Elizabeth Norell (standing), associate director of instructional support in the university's Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and author of 'The Present Professor,' speaks about teaching techniques during a pedagogical workshop hosted by the center. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services