Over the last 40 years, I have had the honor of being around many
wonderful teachers while also embracing information gleaned from those
who never managed to earn my respect. My favorite teachers consistently
hit on most of the seven principles of effective teaching. They all
encouraged student-faculty contact, cooperation among students, and
active learning. Their feedback was prompt, and they were willing to work
with my quirks showing their respect for diverse talents and ways of
learning (Bernstein, Frantz, Chew, 2020). The teacher I would like to focus
on is a history teacher from my hometown community college. This
professor was able to take a mandatory history class and turn it into an
engaging learning experience. He had high expectations and clearly spelt
them out in the syllabus. His study material were effective and helped to
reduce unnecessary surprises. During class he was able to bring fun
historical facts to life and encouraged discussions surrounding each
students personal family history. He was also available after class and
during office hours to discuss the topics of concern and provide guidance
on class materials as needed. Our homework and tests were returned
promptly with meaningful feedback. As a result, I purposefully sought him
out when he taught other classes, especially if I found the topic to be
intimidating.
On the other end of the spectrum, the professor who most distinctly sticks
out in my memory as one that I did not respect was the instructor for
kinesiology while I was completing my undergraduate degree. He was
pompous and proud of it. He started out the class saying most of the class
will choose to drop and the rest will be lucky to receive a (B). His lectures
contradicted his required reading, as well as his study guides and he
lectured so fast that it was impossible to take meaningful notes. He also
always told us how busy he was and was rarely around for questions. My
final frustration with him was that if you were not actively in his program
then you were nothing to him, even if you were slotted to apply for his
program the following year. I passed the class with a (B) and promptly
switched my degree course to avoid any further classes with him.
This experience could have been drastically different. If he would have
come into the first day of class with an encouraging welcome and
reassurance that while this class will be challenging, we will work through
it together I believe more of the students would have stuck around. If he
would have demonstrated some desire to have a conversation instead of
strictly lecturing it would have built rapport within the class. Finally, if he
felt the need to present like the Tasmanian Devil, then he could have at
least remained consistent with the written material. Had I stuck with his
program, I do not believe it would have changed my final degree path, but
I would have gone into occupational therapy with more of a biomechanical
instead of psycho-social mindset which could have affected my current
occupation and possibly my current degree path.
Teaching and learning occur throughout the lifespan. “Train up a child in
the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it”
(English Standard Version (ESV) Bible, 2001, Proverbs 22:6). Individuals
who believe they are bad or unintelligent because they do not understand
a concept or cannot focus for long periods of time will eventually shut
down and may never learn to put forth their true effort or seek out a
learning style that will work best for them (Darling-Hammond, Flook,
Cook-Harvey, Barron, & Osher, 2020). Some people, by the grace of God
and the support of those around them, do prevail. They fight their way
through the system and looking back realize that if the system supported
increased diversity, self-actualization, and positivity when embracing
unique identities their learning experience could have been drastically
different (Robinson, 2022).
I believe that we all have an insurmountable number of teachers and
students that directly and indirectly affect our lives on a regular basis. I
also believe that each past interaction helped to make me into the person
I am today. Not every learning opportunity will necessarily be positive and
that is okay if I grow as a person and as a professional. My question to you
is as follows, “When thinking back on the teacher you identified as being a
poor teacher, what was something positive that you learned from that
situation as a whole?” =
References:
Bernstein, D. A., Frantz, S., & Chew, S. (2020).=Teaching psychology: A
step-by-step guide=(3rd ed.). Routledge.
Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-Harvey, C., Barron, B., & Osher,
D.=(2020)=Implications for educational practice of the science of learning
and development,=Applied Developmental Science,=24:2,=97-
140,=DOI:=10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791 = (Links to an external site.)
English Standard Version Bible.=(2001). ESV Online.
https://esv.literalword.com/
Robinson, D. (2022). Neurodiversity in medical education: How can we
improve postgraduate learning for neurodiverse doctors?=Medical
Teacher,=44(5), 564–
566.=https://doi-org.usu01.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/0142159X.2022.2039383
