Talk about Teaching

It seems like we have a lot of teachers on this board.
Not just people who teach professionally, but teachers of the heart - who enjoy educating those around them in their every-day lives.

Here's a thread to throw anything and everything about teaching. Talk about teaching, share stories about wacky and unexpected teachable moments. Let's talk about how to best teach. Explain how you like to be taught. If you post a link to a teaching resource, write a couple of sentences about why you feel it's worthy to share, what in particular do you like or dislike about it.

Any subject
Any age group
Any interests
From any perspective.
Got any Titled teaching methods?

Have fun with this thread!

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Today I figured out how to teach someone that I've been really struggling to figure out how to teach. It's a person who thinks and interprets reality in a completely different direction from myself - someone who I've been struggling to teach for the last month and keep messing up. Today it was becoming apparent that our session on the microscope was nothing more than a hot mess. I was ready to walk out of the room and grab my superior and say "I can't teach her. I just can't. Please take over." But instead I spoke to her, "You know what, hon? I have no idea how to teach you. There's something entirely different about the way you think, something different about the way you learn and I just haven't been able to figure it out. Tell me, how do I teach you? How do you best learn? Do you have any suggestions?"
She told me that she does really well when someone shows her how things are done, then she knows what to expect and can go from there.
This is too simple. I thought. There is no way that could work on her. I did that the first week and it was a disaster. There's no way that is going to work this time. But you know what? I did it. I gave it a try. I showed her exactly how to adjust that aperture, I did it quickly and efficiently. I did not explain what I was doing as I did it - I simply did it. Then I stepped back and watched as she did it proficiently herself.
Oh my God. Why didn't I think of asking her before?
That's all it took: admitting that we had a problem, showing her that it was my problem, not blaming it on her... asking her how she felt we should deal with it, then listening... and it worked.
From then on, it was an incredibly easy lesson. She completed the assignment quickly and efficiently, and we both walked out of that room with smiles - both knowing that we had learned something priceless.

 

Yay, teaching! My favorite thing.

Right now, I'm learning to be a high school teacher. I currently teach freshmen. Prior to teaching high school, I worked with middle schoolers for a year, and taught them for 12 weeks. Before that, I taught preschool for 2 years. I think all of these experiences will help to make me a pretty well-rounded individual in the long run. I'm going to be dual endorsed in social studies and language arts.

My takeaway from teaching: Laugh. Laugh often. If you aren't laughing, it's drudgery--for you and your students. I actually had a student today say she wished we could record our class sessions as she finds them hysterical. I told her I felt much the same way.

 

I teach softwares...to laypeople, executives, other IT pros, etc.

Create guidebooks, do presentations, etc.
Hell, I even had a business previously where we'd go in and figure out a company's apps, then turn around and teach them about their own software.

And I don't hesitate to instruct or impart knowledge, I'll show someone something at a drop of a hat, or talk on their questions.
It's not my primary job currently, but I still throw down some words here & there.

I think the key is not to presume people know things nor judge their knowledge level.
People know what they know...and they don't know what they don't know...at all different levels.
Hell, I know a lot...and I know I don't know even still more.

Also to make it easy for people...but not overly formalized.
If you get into the tedium, then it turns people off for the most part...but if you make it clear and useful, people appreciate it.

I'd love to start teaching people "soft skills", that would be cool.

 

This week I'm developing my teaching philosophy. I haven't gotten any direction on this, so I feel like a fish out of water. I figured it couldn't hurt to organize my resources here. Then maybe they'll come in handy for someone else, and maybe people can direct me to other resources.

I came across this video:
Video: Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement
And these samples:
Teaching Philosophy Samples
And this guide:


Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement
| The Teaching Center | Washington University in St. Louis

 

I'm grateful that I had a class that required me to write a philosophy statement. I got to quote Nietzsche at length. It's in my interview folder along with my classroom plan.

 

I always take the stance not to presume what everyone knows.
I don't really care what level you are, however some teachers do judge you and can be condescending.

Although there is some personal responsibility of the one being taught to say "I know that" or "don't know that"
And not to assume if we're instructing you as if you didn't know, not to take personal insult to it.
Simply just let them know.

And it's not even about knowledge level or skill...which people sometimes jump on.
That person might be having a bad day, be distracted...or even just a simple brain-fart.
People are human, and other have to let go of unreasonable expectations or impatience.

Often it is not the person, but it is those that have set up the expectations.

 

FYI

Here's a good article...although I doubt the method is truly "new found", still good to be aware of.
How a Radical New Teaching Method Could Unleash a Generation of Geniuses

I do like this...noting that the more current top three skills in demand were teamwork, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
I can't agree more.

Schools don't teach soft skills...the ability to investigate, analyze, search...
In my field, computers/IT, it's a running joke that most IT cannot talk to each other in person, or to a lay person, or management. (or god forbid, a client)
Many with their pride in their skills, don't play well with others.
And how do you leverage each others' strengths
and be aware of, evaluate & mitigate each others' weaknesses accurately and appropriately. (there's much that is just presumed)

I encourage people to find something of "their" interest and favor...and apply it to the company or their career.
Everyone has a "knack"

There is too much trying to fit a variety of square pegs into a standard round hole.
Even expert Academias sometimes get caught in the trap of catering to some scholastic ideal.

You'd think the damn 'crats that are enforcing the scientific method,
would remember the last parts, "observe", "test" and "analyze" ...and repeat ...and not just do the first part.

 

Child-centered education is nothing new. Maria Montessori pioneered it in her Casa dei Bambini in 1906. The only thing different here is that a computer allows access to a variety of information and skills without much investment.

 

Came across this article this morning when multiple people shared it on FB:

My feelings:
I agree with some of the sentiments expressed here. Teaching can be utterly exhausting or exhilarating, the highest highs or the lowest lows. Every day is different. But yes, it isn't as simple as saying, "Oh, you just get up in front of 30 kids and talk for an hour." One, if I talked for an hour straight, I'd completely lose their attention and then be dealing with 30 behavior issues. Two, even when the lessons are interactive and engaging, there arestill 30 students to manage, a lesson to plan, and transitions to navigate. Nevertheless, I love it more than I've ever loved anything I've done, for exactly the reasons Fuller points out--the joy when a student finally grasps a concept, when a difficult student tells you at the end of the tri that they loved you because they felt on some level that you understood them, or when a lesson just clicks for the whole class. For example, I taught a lesson this fall on the different schema for the hero myth, like Joseph Campbell's Hero Cycle, Lord Raglan's list, and Otto Rank's stages. I worked in different heroes from popular cultures that lined up with these theories, and we took a close look at Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings specifically. The whole class got very into it. Afterward, I found I had hooked several students interest in me--which was quite an accomplishment, as this was a class I took over halfway through the trimester. A few of them were now motivated because they knew I liked the same things they did. About halfway through the Prezi, one student asked me how I knew so much about The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I laughed and smiled, and I explained that I reread The Lord of the Rings every year. Why would you reread a book? someone else asked. I told them that rereading one of my favorite books allowed me to read it deeply, to really get into the text, and to often discover things previous readings hadn't yet revealed. There were a few students obviously pleased that I obsessed over The Lord of the Rings. After class, I had a few of the more serious students approach me and thank me for exposing them to these theories on the hero, as that was what they really wanted to learn. They wanted to take their analysis to the next level. It was very gratifying.
The other lesson that surprised the hell out of me this fall was one on the history of the English language. I made a very nice Prezi for that one too. The kids were very curious and asked lots of questions. I think the next time I teach a lower-level English class, I'll do a brief unit on the history of the English language before a Shakespeare unit. I think they'd like more time to read some Beowulf and selections from The Canterbury Tales.

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