Tuesday, October 15, 2013 | TechNews

 

‘Sharing Table' fosters interaction between
undergrad, graduate students, staff, faculty

Shixeen Gul
COPY EDITOR

Who could understand the relation—
ship between a student and an instructor better
than me?

Three years ago I was an instruc-
tor myself and now I am a student here at IIT.
When you enter an institute for the purpose of
education all you hope for is to have a good
instructor because they play the major role in

_. education.

Usually you have really good in-
structors but you are afraid to bond with them
especially when you are new to the institute as
well as the community.

You don’t know what the culture is
like and are unsure of the people with whom
you interact on a daily basis.

But then again, HT is here to help us
out with our problems. IIT Student Center for
Diversity and Inclusion (SCDI) organized an
amazing event called “The Sharing Table”. The
Sharing Table is held on the first Thursday of
every month during the academic term. It is
a special program to help foster personal in—
teraction between undergraduates, graduate
students and faculty. You can engage yourself
in spirited conversation about hobbies, culture
sports, or current events while dining at The
Commons. A small group of students are given
the chance to learn a great deal about their in—
structors in this type of social setting.

I was lucky enough to be selected

as the student ambassador for this program. I
have personally attended both of the meetings
so far and they have both really helped me. The
latest lunch was held on Thursday, October 3,
2013. We had a good number of faculty, staff
and students who attended the lunch and I am
hopeful that it will be even better next time.

I observed that sharing a meal and
eating together with your instructor or faculty
member (who might be your ideal) creates a
strong primal bond. Students feel more relaxed
in this type of setting than in the classroom at
a desk. They will share more about themselves
and their world both at school and away from
it.

Improving students’ relationships
with instructors has important, positive and
long-lasting implications for students’ academ-

ic and social development. If a student feels a
personal connection to a teacher, experiences
frequent communication with a teacher, and
receives more guidance, then the student is
likely to become more trustful of that teacher
and show more engagement in the academic
content presented.

So all the awesome students out
there who really want to spend some quality
time with your instructor, please mark your
calendar for the next luncheon, which will be
held on November 7th at The Commons. We
also have personal invitations that you can give

_to your instructors. You can get them by just

sending an e-mail to scdi@iit.edu. Don’t forget
to follow us on twitter and instagram @iitdi—
versity and like us on SCDI IIT. Hope to see
you all there next time!

 

 

IIT feminists united

presents:

Take Back The Night Week,

October 21 to October 25* a

monday tween Eraend speaker

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