Week 6: The "Near" Lenses - Autobiography and Students’ Eyes
By reflecting on our own stories and listening closely to students, we open the door to deeper empathy, more inclusive practices, and a more responsive approach to teaching.
Last week I shared an overview of Brookfield’s four lenses and gave an example of how you might analyze a specific scenario with each of the lenses. I think it’s useful to go in a little depth on the different lenses, and so this week I want to focus on the autobiographical lens and the student perspective.
The autobiographical lens asks us to reflect on our personal histories as learners and educators. Our beliefs about what matters in the classroom often come from powerful past experiences: a supportive mentor, a discouraging class, a moment of intellectual discovery, or a sense of not belonging. All of our learning experiences—whether empowering or alienating—leave traces in our classrooms, and inform…
How we define a “successful” student
How we respond to silence, resistance, or vulnerability
What classroom norms we assume are “natural”
Where we feel confident—or anxious—in our roles as teachers
Engaging this lens means not only noticing these patterns, but also questioning them…
Where did I learn this idea of what “good teaching” looks like?
When have I felt most alive or discouraged in the classroom—and what shaped those moments?
How do my values show up in my course design, grading, or facilitation?
Brookfield reminds us that our own voices matter—but only as one part of a fuller picture. By pairing the autobiographical lens with others (like the student perspective), we stay open to growth while teaching from a place of grounded authenticity.
The student lens, by contrast, invites us to consider how our teaching is experienced by our learners. Their responses—whether voiced through course evaluations or silent patterns of disengagement—can reveal misalignments, unmet needs, or unexpected successes.
I frequently use “muddiest point” and “minute papers” (also here for strategies for doing this in an online environment) to gather quick, actionable feedback from students.
Want to read more about gathering feedback from students?
use this mid-semester feedback process (updated template here)
here’s a good explanation of the “start-stop-continue” method
using digital exit tickets
for a more intensive process, have an external observer come in to facilitate gathering feedback
Pulling together the autobiographical and student lenses
One tool Brookfield developed to facilitate gathering student perspectives is the Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ). The CIQ is a short, anonymous set of open-ended questions that students answer at the end of a class session or learning module. It’s designed to help instructors see through students’ eyes: What moments stood out as engaging or confusing? When did they feel supported or silenced?
Here’s how to use it…
Choose a class session near the middle of the semester.
Ask students to respond anonymously to 4–5 prompts such as:
At what moment in class were you most engaged?
At what moment were you most distanced?
What action by anyone (teacher or student) did you find most helpful?
What action did you find most confusing or unhelpful?
What’s one thing you wish we would do more (or less) of in class?
Review responses looking for patterns, surprises, or recurring themes—not individual critiques.
Reflect on how this feedback aligns (or conflicts) with your intentions and values as a teacher.
By putting our personal stories in dialogue with student voices, we open the door to deeper empathy, more inclusive practices, and a more responsive approach to teaching.
🔎 INQUIRE
Start by considering how you already integrate the autobiographical and student lenses. How does your personal story shape the way you teach? Do you already elicit student voices in some way—and if so, have you made changes based on student feedback?
✏️ APPLY
Begin by drafting a short “teaching values statement.” In five sentences or fewer, describe what you believe is most important about teaching and learning. Then, find and review recent student feedback—whether from formal evaluations, mid-semester surveys, or informal comments. What do you learn when you look at this feedback holistically rather than defensively? What surprises you? If you’re currently teaching, try using Brookfield’s Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) with your students this week. Ask them brief questions about their engagement and learning, and then reflect on what patterns or surprises emerge. Use this data as one more lens on your practice.
💬 CONNECT
I encourage you to reach out to a colleague, and share stories about a time a student challenged your thinking. What did you learn from the experience? How did this experience make you feel, both in the moment and now upon further reflection.
🧩 SCALE
Reflect on how your personal experiences as a teacher shape the way you support faculty. Then, identify a method you’re using (or could use) to gather “faculty eyes” on your work—formative feedback, post-workshop reflections, or informal check-ins. Choose one question you’ll ask in your next session to better understand how your efforts are landing with participants.
If you listen to the Week 5 & 6 podcast that will be published later this week, I’ll share my responses to these prompts there. In the meantime, you can listen to my interview with Alden Jones - open to all, no subscription needed!
Next week, we’ll focus on the perspectives that our colleagues and research can provide to ground our reflections in a more neutral, perhaps slightly more distant, view.
