There were two main things that I learned from this chapter. The first one is that just because you are teaching a student doesn’t exactly mean that they are learning. I like the example that Duke used of when the piano teacher would spout out facts about the piano and the piece while the student could really care less and wasn’t paying attention. It reminded me to remember that while I’ m teaching, I need to be assessing whether my students learned and therefore changed a specific skill that we were teaching them. Another aspect that was encouraging to me in this chapter is that it takes a while to learn how to teach. You will not be good at it until you have done it for a while. For example, the way you handle misbehaving children or other miscellaneous things that come up unexpectedly will get better the more you teach. It was encouraging since I know that sometimes I judge myself and want to be good as other great teachers I’ve seen: no, it will take time.
Steph, I totally agree and appreciate that point. So often in my life I want to jump ahead to the end result. I want to get to the finished product. You are right, it will take time!
One thing that I've had to keep in mind while I teach is to make sure that I have my students doing the task often enough so I can assess them. Sometimes, it is easy to talk and explain all the background, when they just needed the task and repetitions.
I also appreciated the perspective Duke gave that just because you are teaching doesn't necessarily mean that your students are learning. I often, I think subconsciously, took the perspective that if my students were not learning it was because they did not really care or were not applying themselves. Another idea that stood out to me was the idea that teaching was a "doing thing." Teaching just like playing should never be static. It is dynamic, always moving, always changing. Applying the two together to my teaching looks a lot like a very good teacher, the kind of teacher I want to be.
I like how your brought up the point of the "doing thing." I definitely agree with you. I do have to admit that I never thought about our teaching changing just like playing!
I look back over the couple of years that I have been teaching now and can see how my teaching has changed. I've been able to practice teaching. As I've taught, I've experienced while teaching that this works in this situation, but doesn't work here. I've also seen that the more I teach, the more comfortable I become at teaching a student.
Great thoughts! To me it is amazing how much responsibility there is with teaching. A lot of times if the student is not motivated or is not learning it is the teachers fault. It is also challenging to think that just because something worked yesterday doesn't mean it will work today. As teachers we constantly have to adjust and change our teaching methods. There is so much more to teaching then there would seem!
I liked Duke’s illustration of the piano teacher who had the student listen to important facts about the piano without having the student play. Duke used this to show how learning requires a student to apply the skill. After a lesson, if a student can’t actually do the new skill, it is hard to say the student learned.
I also liked Duke’s emphasis on knowing where you want to go. In music lessons, defining goals, especially for younger students, is what the teacher does. An effective teacher doesn’t just regurgitate facts and demonstrate techniques without being able to provide direction.
Elijah,I also appreciated the idea of having direction. I am a very goal oriented person so that is an aspect of teaching I am working toward developing.
Elijah, I found the piano teacher example interesting too. I know that there were lessons that I walked out of that I know I couldn't preform what I had just learned. Since I didn't do what my teacher wanted in the lesson, I couldn't do it in my practice. We need to be careful as teachers not to just talk about what we want our students to do, but make sure that they can preform the task before leaving the lesson.
I found Duke's discussion on who we are as teachers interesting. Duke said that "Teaching...is a doing thing." Since it is a "doing thing", I need to have an end goal of what I want my teaching to look like and have clear, active descriptions of what I will do in order to accomplish that goal. Those active descriptions are going to be what I will be practicing when I teach. For instance, if I want to be a thorough teacher, I will make sure that my student always has good posture before and during their performance of their piece. Teaching is like learning an instrument - it must be practiced.
It is interesting thinking that when we are teaching we are not only evaluating our students and what they need to fix and practice, but we are also evaluating our teaching to see what we need to fix/do differently and practice. That is just one of the reasons teaching is harder than learning.
Duke mentioned in this chapter that if all your students can do is tell you what you told them, then they haven't really learned anything. I need to make student activity and experimentation a bigger part of my teaching. I also really appreciated reading what Duke had to say about lesson content. I as a teacher am guilty of the "getting the student ready for the good stuff" mentality. I need to find ways to make playing the violin more fun for my students. It was encouraging again reading that it takes a long time to learn how to teach. I am glad we are doing this so I can continue finding week points in my teaching and correcting them.
I think you have really delineated another of Duke's principle applications- that the student should be participating in more high level, independent learner activities, practicing these skills from the very beginning.
There are several passages that talk about being careful with what we say and planning your words. Proverbs 17:7 talks about avoiding excessive speech. I can't remember the passage right now, but there is a verse that says David thought about his words before he spoke to Saul. Colossians talks about using words seasoned with grace. I think that denotes careful forethought.
There were two main things that I learned from this chapter. The first one is that just because you are teaching a student doesn’t exactly mean that they are learning. I like the example that Duke used of when the piano teacher would spout out facts about the piano and the piece while the student could really care less and wasn’t paying attention. It reminded me to remember that while I’ m teaching, I need to be assessing whether my students learned and therefore changed a specific skill that we were teaching them.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect that was encouraging to me in this chapter is that it takes a while to learn how to teach. You will not be good at it until you have done it for a while. For example, the way you handle misbehaving children or other miscellaneous things that come up unexpectedly will get better the more you teach. It was encouraging since I know that sometimes I judge myself and want to be good as other great teachers I’ve seen: no, it will take time.
Steph, I totally agree and appreciate that point. So often in my life I want to jump ahead to the end result. I want to get to the finished product. You are right, it will take time!
DeleteOne thing that I've had to keep in mind while I teach is to make sure that I have my students doing the task often enough so I can assess them. Sometimes, it is easy to talk and explain all the background, when they just needed the task and repetitions.
DeleteThe PROCESS of the doing is where the true benefit is....
DeleteI also appreciated the perspective Duke gave that just because you are teaching doesn't necessarily mean that your students are learning. I often, I think subconsciously, took the perspective that if my students were not learning it was because they did not really care or were not applying themselves.
ReplyDeleteAnother idea that stood out to me was the idea that teaching was a "doing thing." Teaching just like playing should never be static. It is dynamic, always moving, always changing. Applying the two together to my teaching looks a lot like a very good teacher, the kind of teacher I want to be.
I like how your brought up the point of the "doing thing." I definitely agree with you. I do have to admit that I never thought about our teaching changing just like playing!
DeleteI look back over the couple of years that I have been teaching now and can see how my teaching has changed. I've been able to practice teaching. As I've taught, I've experienced while teaching that this works in this situation, but doesn't work here. I've also seen that the more I teach, the more comfortable I become at teaching a student.
DeleteGreat thoughts! To me it is amazing how much responsibility there is with teaching. A lot of times if the student is not motivated or is not learning it is the teachers fault. It is also challenging to think that just because something worked yesterday doesn't mean it will work today. As teachers we constantly have to adjust and change our teaching methods. There is so much more to teaching then there would seem!
DeleteLove the connection to the dynamism of playing!
DeleteI liked Duke’s illustration of the piano teacher who had the student listen to important facts about the piano without having the student play. Duke used this to show how learning requires a student to apply the skill. After a lesson, if a student can’t actually do the new skill, it is hard to say the student learned.
ReplyDeleteI also liked Duke’s emphasis on knowing where you want to go. In music lessons, defining goals, especially for younger students, is what the teacher does. An effective teacher doesn’t just regurgitate facts and demonstrate techniques without being able to provide direction.
Elijah,I also appreciated the idea of having direction. I am a very goal oriented person so that is an aspect of teaching I am working toward developing.
DeleteElijah, I found the piano teacher example interesting too. I know that there were lessons that I walked out of that I know I couldn't preform what I had just learned. Since I didn't do what my teacher wanted in the lesson, I couldn't do it in my practice. We need to be careful as teachers not to just talk about what we want our students to do, but make sure that they can preform the task before leaving the lesson.
DeleteSteph- I think you have hit upon one of Duke's intended applications.
DeleteI found Duke's discussion on who we are as teachers interesting. Duke said that "Teaching...is a doing thing." Since it is a "doing thing", I need to have an end goal of what I want my teaching to look like and have clear, active descriptions of what I will do in order to accomplish that goal. Those active descriptions are going to be what I will be practicing when I teach. For instance, if I want to be a thorough teacher, I will make sure that my student always has good posture before and during their performance of their piece. Teaching is like learning an instrument - it must be practiced.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting thinking that when we are teaching we are not only evaluating our students and what they need to fix and practice, but we are also evaluating our teaching to see what we need to fix/do differently and practice. That is just one of the reasons teaching is harder than learning.
DeleteDuke mentioned in this chapter that if all your students can do is tell you what you told them, then they haven't really learned anything. I need to make student activity and experimentation a bigger part of my teaching. I also really appreciated reading what Duke had to say about lesson content. I as a teacher am guilty of the "getting the student ready for the good stuff" mentality. I need to find ways to make playing the violin more fun for my students. It was encouraging again reading that it takes a long time to learn how to teach. I am glad we are doing this so I can continue finding week points in my teaching and correcting them.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point about making student activity a bigger part of teaching. That really is an aspect of teaching that would take a lot of experience.
DeleteI think you have really delineated another of Duke's principle applications- that the student should be participating in more high level, independent learner activities, practicing these skills from the very beginning.
ReplyDeleteWhat biblical principles support Duke's statement that precision in how we think and talk about teaching will change what we do?
ReplyDeleteThere are several passages that talk about being careful with what we say and planning your words. Proverbs 17:7 talks about avoiding excessive speech. I can't remember the passage right now, but there is a verse that says David thought about his words before he spoke to Saul. Colossians talks about using words seasoned with grace. I think that denotes careful forethought.
DeleteThanks, Elijah!
DeleteThese are biblical passages that I had not even thought of! Can anybody think of any others?
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ReplyDelete