What does it mean to fail as a teacher? The answers will vary as you ask different people. It would be a fair statement to say that someone has failed as a teacher when their students have failed. I am not talking about a few outliers on the fringe because these will always be present. When there are great grade curves necessary to bring the majority of the class within average grades, that would be failing as a teacher.
Much like in business if the majority of employees are failing, then it is a management issue; the same standard should be applied in teaching. The fact is that if the material is so difficult that students score less than a passing grade on tests then that should indicate not that students are failing, but the teacher is failing to explain it in bite-sized pieces and ways that the students are able to grasp.
The first requirement is caring. If the teacher has no concern whether the student is actually learning the material, then most students will not care either. Without concern, a teacher will not be inspired to go the extra mile in teaching. A personal example is that I have had great success with individual students who were having difficulties grasping material by utilizing the following method. I would first talk with the student and find out what their personal interests were as well as any area where they were very knowledgeable. Then I would pick one of these areas and spend 15-30 minutes learning it myself. Then I am able to communicate with the student using something they already understand.
As a teacher, I think it is just a matter of proficiency that any teacher worth two cents should be able to take a given topic and understand it well enough withing 15-30 minutes in order to be able to draw analogies between this new area of student understanding and the area of the teacher's expertise. By being able to talk with a student about something they understand and plug in knowledge they dont understand by association, they are able to grasp difficult concepts very quickly. Since learning occurs by association, it makes for very effective learning that a student will likely remember as well as understand the practical application of.
The caveat is that this takes extra time and effort on the teacher's part. So we can sum up the failure of teaching to not only using ineffective methods, but also being adverse to trying new ways and learning new things on the teacher's part.
To Ponder:
How to convince the all knowing and all powerful wizard (Teacher in this case), that there is more to learn. Is it necessary to pull back the curtain and reveal the ineffective person first?
Monday, March 12, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Philosophy of Teaching
In being an effective teacher, it is first important to understand your teaching philosophy. I think teaching is is a discipline that is dynamic and constantly changing. This is particularly with using technology in teaching, as new technologies are discovered and implemented as teaching tools the methods of teaching must grow to encompass these new "teach-nologies".
Teaching is being able to facilitate learning by being able to give learning to a student as well as the student receiving the learning. My particular approach is a thorough knowledge of my field of expertise while also having a very broad base of knowledge to draw from. Even though teaching occurs in the class setting, it still comes down to teaching individual students. By understanding what areas a student is likely to have knowledge of, I am able to translate the knowledge I have and make associations with the knowledge they have.. An example I recently used was being able to explain computer operating systems to a carpenter with no computer knowledge. Take the example of processor sorting algorithms, To the carpenter, "Have you ever been building something and needed your next piece of lumber, went and looked around to find a piece that was just long enough without too much excess waste?" Now you understand the Best Fit sorting algorithm. Maybe you were in a hurry and just grabbed the piece closest to you.......and so on.
By creating such associations you tap into the knowledge a student already understands and knows. Granted, every student is not a carpenter, but every student has picked classes, studied, played video games, not had enough money.....etc. You don't have to look too far to find an analogy that will make a connection.
Also, teaching must be dynamic. Employing a variety of learning methodologies and modalities increases the student interaction and involvement. In-class experiments, multimedia presentations, student centered learning, pair programming, group projects, and so on are effective in getting more students involved that what a lecture style format can ever hope for. Since many students have different learning styles and abilities, using a varying format will facilitate better learning overall.
Perhaps my greatest tool for teaching is keeping the student mindset. I try to ask myself, if I were a student learning this material,
By considering these questions in the preparation of instruction materials, I am able to gain realistic expectations for the quantity and content that can be learned in a session. I am able to set goals for each class as well as for the course. Additionally, I attempt to set goals for individual students, having greater expectations for every single one than what they came into class with.
I also feel teaching needs to be relevant. Material presented in class should be time-relevant as well as having a meaning and purpose that can be demonstrated in terms of skills learned, concepts understood, and progress toward a measurable goal. Teaching computer science courses, the knowledge learned needs to be relevant and marketable to the computer industry.
What I value as the end result of teaching, is the ability to take something away from the class a student can use in the future. If the class is of the type that teaches a skill, then I expect the student to have an end product that can demonstrate that skill. For example, in a class teaching HTML, the end result should be at a minimum that the student has a working website available on the Internet whereby they can showcase their learning from the class.
Teaching is being able to facilitate learning by being able to give learning to a student as well as the student receiving the learning. My particular approach is a thorough knowledge of my field of expertise while also having a very broad base of knowledge to draw from. Even though teaching occurs in the class setting, it still comes down to teaching individual students. By understanding what areas a student is likely to have knowledge of, I am able to translate the knowledge I have and make associations with the knowledge they have.. An example I recently used was being able to explain computer operating systems to a carpenter with no computer knowledge. Take the example of processor sorting algorithms, To the carpenter, "Have you ever been building something and needed your next piece of lumber, went and looked around to find a piece that was just long enough without too much excess waste?" Now you understand the Best Fit sorting algorithm. Maybe you were in a hurry and just grabbed the piece closest to you.......and so on.
By creating such associations you tap into the knowledge a student already understands and knows. Granted, every student is not a carpenter, but every student has picked classes, studied, played video games, not had enough money.....etc. You don't have to look too far to find an analogy that will make a connection.
Also, teaching must be dynamic. Employing a variety of learning methodologies and modalities increases the student interaction and involvement. In-class experiments, multimedia presentations, student centered learning, pair programming, group projects, and so on are effective in getting more students involved that what a lecture style format can ever hope for. Since many students have different learning styles and abilities, using a varying format will facilitate better learning overall.
Perhaps my greatest tool for teaching is keeping the student mindset. I try to ask myself, if I were a student learning this material,
- What would I want the end result to be?
- How could it best be presented that would make it easier to learn?
- Is there a way to make this "fun" to learn?
By considering these questions in the preparation of instruction materials, I am able to gain realistic expectations for the quantity and content that can be learned in a session. I am able to set goals for each class as well as for the course. Additionally, I attempt to set goals for individual students, having greater expectations for every single one than what they came into class with.
I also feel teaching needs to be relevant. Material presented in class should be time-relevant as well as having a meaning and purpose that can be demonstrated in terms of skills learned, concepts understood, and progress toward a measurable goal. Teaching computer science courses, the knowledge learned needs to be relevant and marketable to the computer industry.
What I value as the end result of teaching, is the ability to take something away from the class a student can use in the future. If the class is of the type that teaches a skill, then I expect the student to have an end product that can demonstrate that skill. For example, in a class teaching HTML, the end result should be at a minimum that the student has a working website available on the Internet whereby they can showcase their learning from the class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)