Knowing Oneself by Knowing the Other: Teacher and Student Growing Up Together in Teaching and Learning the Qualitative Research

This article consists of three reflective memos by the author while teaching a qualitative research methods course, concerning her students' needs and her responses. The first memo introduces the author's reflection on the teacher-student relationship, prompted by students' reluctance to volunteer in class activities. The second memo discusses why teachers usually do not like student silence in class, as it challenges teacher's esteem and self-efficacy. The third memo, regarding a student's enquiry of why theory cannot be produced directly from theory, explores why education research cannot rely solely on speculations. All the reflections reveal the author's concern about students' needs in learning qualitative research methods. Such reflection helps the author better understand her own role as a teacher, and commits herself to growing up together with students.