Beatrice Trefalt
Faculty of Arts
Helping students believe they can learn anything
From big questions to quiet breakthroughs, this class builds confidence about research one idea at a time.
How do you help students build confidence, not just knowledge?
We talk openly about the challenges of gaining and losing 'knowledge'; and we discuss the ways in which these may be overcome, piece-by-piece and step-by-step. Knowing 'how to know' rather than just 'what to know' is at the heart of my field and the way I teach.
What do you hope your students take away from their time with you? Is there a student moment you’ll never forget, and why?
I really love the moment when the 'penny drops' for a student and that look of wonder that they have. Every semester it happens at least once that I am there to see, and it's very validating. It's the moment when they understand that they CAN understand these hard questions.
There are so many students who I will never forget. My favourite was a mature age student from a disadvantaged background who had struggled in my unit at first, who wrote to me several years later to say that he was doing a Phd at the Australian Defence Force Academy and that I was the reason why he loved research.
I really love the moment when the 'penny drops' for a student and that look of wonder that they have. ”
What do you hope your students remember about you 10 years from now?
I would love for them to remember me as someone who made them feel that they were endlessly able to learn, and that learning was something worth doing. I would like them to bring into their careers that confidence that they know 'how to find out', that they are open to other points of view, and other ways of life, and that they are able to deal with complexity and uncertainty without fear.
What legacy or ripple effect do you hope to leave behind?
I would love for my legacy to be an understanding that knowledge is something that is built very carefully, and that it is worth questioning all certainties. Many of my former students have become teachers, radio broadcasters, journalists and public servants, and I can see that thinking at work in them. There are many hundreds of others whose life is not as visible to me who I hope are able to think through challenges as they thought through historical problems with me.
What’s the biggest myth about university education you wish more people would rethink?
There is a myth that you are left to your own devices in your learning. That is not true at all. You are surrounded by people who are there to help you.
How do you tailor your teaching approach to engage and inspire today's students?
There are a number of key concepts that I want my students to become familiar with in their learning. They are quite abstract, but I make them relevant to their lives and experiences by connecting them to elements that are familiar in their own lives. Films, anime, manga, bubble tea or other consumer goods are ways to talk about colonialism, nationalism, consumerism and globalisation. Our students are also often very idealistic and focused on social justice, and I choose topics to teach that speak to their interests.