Politics lecturer Gretchen Gee develops critical thinkers.
Students in Gretchen Gee鈥檚 courses dive deep into political ideologies. The 青青草视频 Chair and Principal Lecturer of NAU鈥檚 Politics and International Affairs Department sets up expectations at the start of each semester, requiring students to present influential belief systems.
They share controversial and even hate-filled ideas such as Nazism or fascism as though they were trying to convert their classmates.
Gee challenges them: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care if you hate it. You鈥檙e going to get in there and embrace it and tell me why somebody would follow it. You鈥檙e going to put on the hat of a true believer.鈥
The analysis that follows leads to learning. 鈥淭hen you鈥檙e going to take off that hat,鈥 Gee said, 鈥淎nd step to the side and say what鈥檚 problematic about it and how it has impacted the world. You鈥檙e free to disagree, but you鈥檙e going to disagree respectfully.鈥
Gee鈥檚 goal as an instructor is simple: get students to see the world through a broader lens, regardless of their background.
鈥淏y forcing them to put on the perspective of somebody who has a very different belief system,鈥 she said, she ensures students will engage with that system, adding that if they have to verbalize those beliefs, 鈥渢hat makes the engagement with it that much deeper. I don鈥檛 want anybody walking out of my class still blind to all those other perspectives out there.鈥
Engaging students
Engagement. Gee, a President鈥檚 Distinguished Teaching Fellow, takes this word seriously. When students are actively involved in learning, they more seriously examine their own beliefs. What Gee does not want is to spoon-feed students her views.
鈥淚 am thrilled when students at the end of the semester can鈥檛 tell what my political perspective is,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t is not my job to convert them to my perspective. My job is to help them become clear and critical thinkers.鈥
As Model United Nations club advisor, Gee built the program from four students when she took over in 2011 to around 50 per semester, traveling to conferences in the United States and abroad, often returning with awards against top universities.
She spent past spring breaks taking students on a study abroad program to World Model UN conferences in Panama, Madrid, Brussels, and Melbourne. In 2019, she was the coach for NAU鈥檚 squad in the Regents鈥 Cup, a free speech and debate competition put on by the Arizona Board of Regents to highlight civil discourse at the state鈥檚 three public universities.
Gee finds that the club setting inspires some students. Out of the classroom, they find purpose among their peers.
鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how many students tell me Model UN was the best part of their college experience,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hat I love about Model UN is that I have everything from the tippy-top students to the students barely scraping by. They all talk about how important Model UN is to them because it鈥檚 a place where they connect with other students. They are engaged with something bigger than themselves.鈥
Gee has found that the Model UN is an opportunity to influence her teaching. She adapted simulations from club activities, such as a fake CNN clip about a terrorist attack. Students researched and took on various roles, from Islamist terrorists and Russian politicians to human rights workers and civilians.
People grow when they’re pushed, so I push them.
鈥淭hey all come to class and act like it just happened,鈥 Gee said. 鈥淭hey get into their groups and talk about why this happened and what should be done next. A representative from each group provides the explanation from their discussion. It鈥檚 active learning. It鈥檚 critical thinking. It鈥檚 engaged.鈥
Challenging students
Tasauna (LaShae) Brown, a Gold Axe winner who served as president of Model UN, credits Gee for being a mentor who prompted her to find opportunities to get involved.
鈥淪he鈥檚 been encouraging me to take leadership roles and has been propelling me forward ever since my first day on campus,鈥 Brown said. 鈥淪he really cares about her students and is dedicated to her work. She鈥檚 also very compassionate, which makes it easy to communicate with her.鈥
鈥淢y reputation is that I am a hard professor,鈥 Gee said. 鈥淚 totally revel in that. I tell my students straight up, I鈥檓 hard not to be mean, but because I want to challenge you. This is higher education. It ought to be challenging. The brain is like any muscle. It鈥檚 not going to get any stronger unless you push it. Our brains aren鈥檛 going to get better unless we really push it. People grow when they鈥檙e pushed, so I push them.鈥
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