Give
me a fish and I will eat today. Teach me
to fish and I will eat for a lifetime.
This Chinese proverb aptly summarizes my philosophy of effective
teaching. Allow me to briefly explain
what I mean.
There are three primary components
presented in the proverb. First,
effective teaching is experiential by nature. Direct instruction is only part of a complete
education. To be effective, it must be
experiential: we learn best by doing.
Learning is not passive, but an active pursuit! This is especially true of science.
Therefore, I provide hands-on activities each
week for the opportunity to learn by doing.
However, this does not negate the importance of rote learning of
essential information. It is only to
emphasize the importance of providing as many real-life experiences as possible
through activities, labs, field trips, and guest speakers to enhance the
educational experience.
Second, effective teaching must be
preparative. At the middle
school level this does not solely refer to subject matter, it refers to
developmental skills as well. Depending
upon what vocation students may pursue, some will need to draw from subject
knowledge learned from this class; some will not. Every student, however, will need to draw
from the skills learned in class.
Critical thinking and problem solving are essential skills in any
vocation. Teaching these skills helps to
prepare a student for life.
Finally, effective teaching must be relevant
to the students. In other words, if a
student cannot relate the subject matter to their everyday life, its meaning is
diminished. Most of what a student
learns can in some way be made relevant, or real, to them. Students, like adults, will not willingly
invest much time and effort into something they see no use for. Education must be made relevant to be
effective.
Now read the proverb again. It is not enough to just provide information,
I must allow them to experience
learning in a way that will prepare
them with the relevant skills
necessary to achieve any goal they set for themselves. Of course, I cannot do this alone.