Teaching as a Learning Process

Teaching is a learning process. Many see teaching as the end product, as merely a teaching process (lectures, lessons, notes, etc.). The result of all your efforts in preparation. But that preparation is always is always a learning process, as is seeing your plans unfold in the classroom. Some things work, and other things fall flat on their face.

I often find myself in the classroom trying to make a connection/analogy/example/etc. and the students can't see it. The connection falls flat. In these moments, you have to quickly go back to the drawing board to come up with something better - something students can wrap their heads around, chew on.

A World War I general once said, and I'm paragraphing here, that no plan survives the first attack. After the first attack, the plan changes. Always. Teaching is a lot like this. Teaching I believe is about 50 percent planning and 50 percent improvisation. The 50 percent improvisation may seem a little high to many, but I think that its true. That doesn't mean that 50 percent of the time you are freewheeling in the classroom, no, it just means that 50 percent of the time you are adjusting your plans, making small corrections and changes to make sure that the learning process is going smoothly for students. 

I have been teaching for a few years now, and I continue to learn more about the craft and calling each day. When you see that students are learning/understanding/applying the concepts you are teaching, and you are connecting with your class, that experience can be great. But, when you are falling short, you can feel that, too, and it is not a great experience.

The goal is the maximize those experiences where you are connecting with the class. Of course, this gets harder as the semester wears on. Students interest in your course/subject begins to wane, as they are thinking about the NEXT semester, and the NEXT thing. It is in these times that you really have to work hard to ensure that students still tune into your class.