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?” d
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
