Photo by Ash from Modern Afflatus on Unsplash
Michelle Andrus, Contributor
I am a lifelong student and learning facilitator who approaches much of life from a student perspective and values a collaborative approach in education. I believe learning, personal growth, connections with others, and participation in community are integral to a healthy and happy life.
After a roughly 20-year career as a teacher in classrooms, during which I also continued to work in tutoring and editing, I am now taking a pause from working at educational institutions to pursue new projects. Having moved back to Montreal, Canada in the fall of 2021, I have been exploring community initiatives and coursework that encourage and nurture community participation and action.
These experiences have been amazing opportunities to engage with thoughtful community members. Along with the content of the courses I've studied and the programs I'm participating in, my peers and course/team leaders have been invaluable sources of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration. Their kindness and inclusion have also given me the gift of being connected with fellow members of the community.
My personal goals in the next couple years are to grow this website and to seek out community and educational organizations with which to partner on cross-generational community-building initiatives. The Learning Word will include information about those initiatives as they evolve.
My educational background includes a BA in English Literature and an MA in English (Literature option), and I hope to participate in community education and community-building in the long-term.
After a roughly 20-year career as a teacher in classrooms, during which I also continued to work in tutoring and editing, I am now taking a pause from working at educational institutions to pursue new projects. Having moved back to Montreal, Canada in the fall of 2021, I have been exploring community initiatives and coursework that encourage and nurture community participation and action.
These experiences have been amazing opportunities to engage with thoughtful community members. Along with the content of the courses I've studied and the programs I'm participating in, my peers and course/team leaders have been invaluable sources of knowledge, guidance, and inspiration. Their kindness and inclusion have also given me the gift of being connected with fellow members of the community.
My personal goals in the next couple years are to grow this website and to seek out community and educational organizations with which to partner on cross-generational community-building initiatives. The Learning Word will include information about those initiatives as they evolve.
My educational background includes a BA in English Literature and an MA in English (Literature option), and I hope to participate in community education and community-building in the long-term.
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Working Together in a Collaborative Approach Like trees and other beings, people can grow well together. There's something about joining forces in collaboration that can really bolster a positive experience in learning and growing. |
Image by Joe from Pixabay
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A little more about my background experience
I've worked with learners of all ages one-on-one, in small groups, and in classes of 7 to 50 people; in places including my home, people's homes and offices, an academy, a language institute, a children's camp, a high school, two universities, and a centre; in countries including Morocco, Pakistan, South Korea, and Canada. I've also edited PhD theses, journal articles and abstracts, high school textbook materials, and other writing.
Before moving to Montreal for a second time, I lived in Seoul, South Korea, where I worked for 2 years at Myungduk Foreign Language High School, and then for 12 and a half years at Soongsil University. For the first 2 and a half years at Soongsil University, I taught in the Freshmen English Program, and then for 10 years, I taught English Language Training courses in the Department of English Language and Literature. There, I was able to work together with colleagues on the curriculum through 3 cycles of updates, which occur every 4 years, to ensure a cohesive curriculum for English language learners that uses a communicative, discussion-centered approach. My life and work experiences in Korea brought me great opportunities for learning and growth, as well a community of friends and family with whom I continue to learn and grow. These experiences and this community are informing my path forward now.
So is the community in Montreal, Canada, which I am currently getting to know again through working and learning in the community.
I bring with me a love of languages, a love of working with people, and a respect for both. I have grown up and worked with people from around the world throughout my lifetime, and my core values include tolerance, openness to new ideas, sharing perspectives, and respecting different ways of living and being.
In shared spaces for learning and creating together (indeed, in all meeting spaces), I believe that a safe and comfortable environment allows discussion and creation to flourish.
At work and in learning, I encourage actively engaging with features of and tools for achieving goals, including planning, self-monitoring, and process (whether planned or organic or both), as well as visualization, practice, habit-building, routine, celebration, positivity, growth mindset, and perseverance. I have had overwhelmingly positive learning experiences through engaging with these features of achieving goals, and find that simply discussing them can enrich and brighten the growth that emerges with them in the process of learning. These days, I am learning about and through tools offered by u-school for Transformation. and building capacity with the help and community of fellow participants in u-lab 1x and 2x.
I believe in the possibilities of learning, growth, words, stories, and community, which offer routes to futures that we haven't yet imagined, or that we are in the process of imagining and building.
I've worked with learners of all ages one-on-one, in small groups, and in classes of 7 to 50 people; in places including my home, people's homes and offices, an academy, a language institute, a children's camp, a high school, two universities, and a centre; in countries including Morocco, Pakistan, South Korea, and Canada. I've also edited PhD theses, journal articles and abstracts, high school textbook materials, and other writing.
Before moving to Montreal for a second time, I lived in Seoul, South Korea, where I worked for 2 years at Myungduk Foreign Language High School, and then for 12 and a half years at Soongsil University. For the first 2 and a half years at Soongsil University, I taught in the Freshmen English Program, and then for 10 years, I taught English Language Training courses in the Department of English Language and Literature. There, I was able to work together with colleagues on the curriculum through 3 cycles of updates, which occur every 4 years, to ensure a cohesive curriculum for English language learners that uses a communicative, discussion-centered approach. My life and work experiences in Korea brought me great opportunities for learning and growth, as well a community of friends and family with whom I continue to learn and grow. These experiences and this community are informing my path forward now.
So is the community in Montreal, Canada, which I am currently getting to know again through working and learning in the community.
I bring with me a love of languages, a love of working with people, and a respect for both. I have grown up and worked with people from around the world throughout my lifetime, and my core values include tolerance, openness to new ideas, sharing perspectives, and respecting different ways of living and being.
In shared spaces for learning and creating together (indeed, in all meeting spaces), I believe that a safe and comfortable environment allows discussion and creation to flourish.
At work and in learning, I encourage actively engaging with features of and tools for achieving goals, including planning, self-monitoring, and process (whether planned or organic or both), as well as visualization, practice, habit-building, routine, celebration, positivity, growth mindset, and perseverance. I have had overwhelmingly positive learning experiences through engaging with these features of achieving goals, and find that simply discussing them can enrich and brighten the growth that emerges with them in the process of learning. These days, I am learning about and through tools offered by u-school for Transformation. and building capacity with the help and community of fellow participants in u-lab 1x and 2x.
I believe in the possibilities of learning, growth, words, stories, and community, which offer routes to futures that we haven't yet imagined, or that we are in the process of imagining and building.