( This is a creepy image isn’t it ?)
I love watching good teachers teach. I really do. Really. I do.
I’m taking Calculus III and I think my professor is a bit of a jerk but he’s also a damn good teacher.
He models, makes bad jokes, admonishes and encourages, emphasizes understanding concepts over knowing formulas, and always….always shows the class two to three ways to solve the same problem.
I unconsciously began doing many of the same things in my own classes. Today I found myself drawing an oil rig on the board to illustrate what was going on in a word problem and the kids ate it up. They understood the problem completely and were able to grasp the concept…rather than simply focus on the method.
Professional development and teacher preparation programs should really include a major component that allows all of us newbies ( I’m 4 years in the game and I still consider myself new at this ) to watch the vets so we can learn a thing or two and steal as many pedagogical practices as possible.
So, my loyal readers ( both of you!)…from whom do you steal ?
I had this one great professor during my undergrad. He had such a great command of the class. From the second the class started, to the second it ended — everyone was paying attention to the guy.
He had this one thing that he always did. When he was trying to elicit a certain response to a question of his — and after a NUMBER of students did not give him what he was looking for … when one finally did, he would go into this whole production which .. went something like this (assume the student’s name was Dan):
Dan: [gives correct answer]
Prof: (smiles) …. Dan … (pauses) .. Dan? … Dan .. when ….. (pause) when was the laaaaaaaast time (pause) that someone ….. told you …….(one last dramatic pause) that you were WONDERFUL?
I mean .. he did this ALL the time. Countless times through the semester. It worked every time. The class was in his hands.
That’s awesome.
I’m also taking Linear Algebra this semester. This particular professor is the epitome of everything I don’t want to be as a teacher.
He lectures the entire time, fills the board with theorems, proofs, and definitions and very few examples.
He models concepts very infrequently and is essentially an all around bore.
But, back to your experience….the pregnant pauses are great to use on students. It keeps them engaged and also keeps them thinking. Telling them that they’re right or wrong straight away immediately makes them stop thinking…and at that point the lesson may as well be over.