Why do I do what I do? What do I believe? What do I want students to walk away with after taking a course that I've helped design?
I think I'm going to use a metaphor of an over-prepared adventure tour guide. You know, the one with the overstuffed backpack who is prepared for everything, tries to ensure that everyone is safe and having fun, and ready to show people the ropes in a new terrain? Here are a few important skills for this tour guide: Prepared. An important part of learning is having the tools and resources needed to learn. The tour guide seems to have the important things to help you as you travel through your adventure from point A to point Z. Need to make an impromptu fire? The guide has the matches. Hole in your tent? The guide has an extra tarp. An important part of teaching is providing these tools to students and showing them how to use the tools effectively. Knowledgeable. An important part of learning is acquiring new knowledge. The tour guide knows a lot of 'stuff' and helps make connections to previous learning. Know how to make a fire in your back yard fire pit, but not safely in the bush? The tour guide is your person. Unsure how to properly patch a hole in your canoe? The tour guide has the repair kit in his/her back pocket. Teaching involves helping learners acquire new knowledge, effectively use the tools/skills they're acquiring, and making connections to prior knowledge. Flexible. Sometimes things don't go as planned when teaching. The path you were planning to take up to the summit a little messy due to some recent rain? The tour guide is willing to take a different route to get there. Teaching involves being flexible. Flexibility with how quickly (or slowly) you get through your content, flexibility with your students and their ability to grasp that week's content, and flexibility with how to get from point A to point B. Sometimes teaching involves going with the flow - and being ok with this. Safe. Sometimes teaching involves being a confidant and a safe space. The weather getting treacherous on your adventure? The tour guide can help calm down the group and provide some next steps. Much of teaching involves creating safe spaces for learners and recognizing the various ways this can be done. This can involve setting the course climate, making materials accessible, being mindful in the language used, and more. Fun. Adventures should be fun. Teaching should be fun - for both the teacher and the learner. Who wants to go on a 3-day hike with a tour guide who isn't entertaining in some way? Not me. Teaching involves occasionally trying something new. Teaching involves finding ways to make your teaching moments memorable for students. If telling a joke ("I was reading a book about Helium. I couldn't put it down." *ha*) makes students remember something, then tell that joke. If having students debate, role play, discuss, or practice makes it more interesting for us all, then it might be worth a shot. And maybe this will depend on your cohort of students - we aren't all Tetris squares, after all. Sometimes taking the shot is better than not (rhyming is good, too). Reflect. When people say goodbye after a 3-day adventure, they're walking away different people. Both the tour guide and the participants have gained experiences, shared stories, and worked together. They've formed a bond (maybe? I hope?) with their shared memories. The tour guide thinks about what might be done differently next time - both to improve his/her experience and the experience of the participants. And, the participant thinks about what kind of adventure they would like to do next. Part of teaching involves being able to reflect on past experiences in the classroom and considering improvements for the next lesson/semester/offering. Part of learning involves making connections to past and future learning, as well as reflecting on next steps. Make a Difference. Sometimes, your tour guide can make or break a trip for you. Teaching and learning is a shared experience, and ultimately, I went into education in an attempt to make a difference and make student learning the "make it" kind of moment for students. Whether it's directly with students in a face-to-face or screen-to-screen kind of way, or maybe even behind the scenes as an ID, I think both of these types of roles. The way you teach, design, and explore concepts for students can make a student learning experience more enjoyable and effective. So, in a nut shell, I want to help people get to the summit of the mountain. And try to make sure they have a bit of fun and a positive experience while they're doing it.
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