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?” e
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
