Here is a quote from Using Moodle; please comment on its relevance to your teaching.
Universities do a great job helping people become domain experts and researchers. They do a poor job of teaching those experts how to teach. Unfortunately, the very process of becoming an expert makes it more difficult to teach novices. Cognitive research has shown that as people become more expert, they lose the ability to explain why and how they do certain basic tasks. The higher the level of expertise, the less conscious access you tend to have to the fundamentals of what you do. To achieve expertise, you need to develop a level of automatic performance for basic skills so you can concentrate your mental resources on the more difficult tasks.
Much of our preparation of teachers assumes teaching comes naturally. Since we’ve all been to school, we must know how to teach. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Creating effective learning environments requires training and careful preparation.
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10 responses so far ↓
It is very true that the more brilliant the instructor the worse the teacher. Obviously, not everyone fits that mold but some of the teachers I’ve had myself were very knowledgeable in their subject area but couldn’t teach. One flunked everyone and scaled up. It is very frustrating to try to learn that way.
I agree that the more perform a task, the more it becomes an unconscious effort. Therefore it becomes very difficult to teach someone to perform that same task. As a mentor to a new teacher this year, I was surprised at how much I just assumed my mentee should know. Some skills seemed to be innate to me, and I found it difficult to tell/show someone how to do it.
It was good for me to have to really think about how I get students to a certain point and to have to show someone else how to do that. The skills that I assume are natural are at times not.
Training and careful preparation are important.
Experience is also important. The more we teach and the more we are willing to change, the better we can get. I do know that we all struggle with appropriate assessments. I am always happy receive any help I can.
I totally agree. Iknow that when someone asks me how I did something I have a hard time trying to think back on what I did. One of the many reasons I do not take student teachers!
When it comes to teaching, I feel that I have learned the ability to think like a first grader and explain things so that they understand. It has taken a longtime to learn how to do it and they sure didnt teach us that in college.
Hi Some of the smartest teachers are not always very good teachers. They may not have discipline issues figured out yet or how to effectively teach the material. There are many methods for a good teacher to have /know.
I disagree with the author or authors of this short article. Excellent colleges/universities who have qualified instructors usually do teach prospective teachers how to teach. I went to a teachers college for all my degrees and I feel I received top notch methods courses. Of course, I was an elementary teacher major and we take and receive more method courses than secondary majors. Although, in the last ten years I am not impressed with some of courses being offered by universities/colleges for upcoming teachers. These prospective teachers don’t enter the field prepared.
I agree with the article. Being able to teach is much harder than it seems. It is hard to assume that who we teach are all on the same level. Being able to teach at different levels, keeping each student involved, interested and able learn is a feat in itself.
There are so many attributes to being a good teacher, that this view is too simplistic. A good teacher has to have a good knowledge base, but must be a good listener, empathetic, be able to control a crowd, be collegial, be reflective….so many things.
My kids in college have had several professors that can not teach. It is frustrating to see this.
On the case of the teacher expertise yes, those professors are suppose to be expert in everything they do but it is not. I don’t know if they assumed everyone to be like them great on teaching, each of us has different talent. About myself, I have trouble of understanding sometimes on directions and explaining myself to my students. I love teaching though and I have to do a lot of practice in order to be effective in teaching. I would love to be an expert on teaching!
I agree that to be an effective teacher one must have training and careful preparation. Just because someone is brilliant in their subject area does not mean that they have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to teach children. In the last few years there has been a shortage of teachers in math, science, and special education. Because of this shortage, many schools have hired teachers without the proper certification. I think this is a big mistake. Fortunately in Maine, I feel we have excellent teacher prep programs. For example, USM’s ETEP program does an excellent job preparing teachers. Not only should teachers have a deep understanding of their subject matter, they also need to know how students learn.
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