14 Apr April Feature Facilitator – Mr. Mahmoud Sharkawi

Just like that, it’s April! This month’s feature facilitator is Mr. Mahmoud Sharkawi. Mr. Sharkawi has been at Xspace for about one and a half years. Born in Syria, Mr. Sharkawi grew up in Hamilton, Ontario – also known as the Steel Capital of Canada. Aside from working with students at Xspace, he is also currently completing his Ph.D in Applied Mathematics at Western University.

Mr. Mahmoud Sharkawi

As a math student himself, Mr. Sharkawi was accustomed to the traditional “lecture-exam” style of learning, which was more teacher-centered. Mr. Sharkawi found the lectures to be abstract, tedious and often unrelatable. This discouraged him from attending classes and studying on his own as he found the learning outcomes and the contents of the course were not delivered with the intention of creating an optimal learning environment.

However, with technology, Mr. Sharkawi realized that there are actually many options to learn because everyone learns differently. For him, a short engaging and relatable 10-minute video could often be more effective than an entire week of lectures.

Mr. Sharkawi also shares how he experienced a Goldilocks-level of pressure; not too relaxed so that he became lazy and not too stressed so that he had a hard time learning. Online learning provided the option of online assessments with multiple attempts which removed some of the unnecessary pressure to get the right answer and gave him some room to fail!

Mr. Sharkawi believes that students need some room to fail, make mistakes and correct those mistakes. Therefore, he truly believes that technology is a practical way that not only provides more customizable avenues for learning but is also a way to make the learning experience more student-centered. He continues to take (and teach) online courses to this day!

Two of the best things about working at Xspace according to Mr. Sharkwai is the convenience of working at home and the ease of giving transparent feedback. Although students still receive feedback in a regular classroom, normally they would not be able to discuss it during class time and students would have to wait in a line of other feedback-seeking students at the end of class, make an appointment or see the instructor during office hours. Online courses allow for more transparent and immediate access to feedback on student work as there are fewer students and more focus on independent student learning.

Mr. Sharkawi shares that the most important thing he learned as on online educator is that students learn by example. His role as a facilitator became more effective when he can cook up relatable examples that students can connect with. Doing so improved their motivation to learn and increased their focus, as they do not see math and physics as these boring necessary evils that they must take in high school. Instead, he believes students start to view these subjects being designed with a real purpose that exist in the real world.

Mr. Sharkawi’s advice for taking online courses is to preview the material before the next class if possible. Even if there is confusion with the material, it will still help with absorbing the material quicker when the facilitator introduces it. Taking the initiative to jump ahead communicates to the teacher/facilitator that you have gone beyond the minimum requirements and you will very likely get closer to the grade you aim for.

Written by: Karen Chu