Why Do You Teach?

We have all become accustomed to talking about learning outcomes or objectives or something else you might call the knowledge that we want our students to have as they complete our courses. Often we begin our semester very focused on these outcomes. Our assessments may even be calibrated precisely to what knowledge we want to measure. But somewhere along the way the human factor plays a part in changing the linear trajectory of the teaching and learning we are hoping is occurring. This messiness is nothing more than human nature. After all, the education science we are hoping to harness is built on humans and we all know how much we change daily, weekly, and throughout our lives. So I want to suggest something that we have discussed in the past. Take a step back and look to your academic training. Why did you become a teacher of economics, mathematics, theater, or fill-in-the-blank? Think back to the ideas that made you excited to want to continue to attend college and earn a master's or doctoral degree. It is that big idea that you need to introduce to your students at the beginning of the semester. What is the macro-level knowledge that is the most important for each of your students to take with them to the next class? What is something that will keep their focus as they delve in deeper as the semester progresses? Paul Hanstedt calls is a beautiful idea and his recent post may help you think about what you will bring to the first day. Now the trick is you must continue to focus on that idea throughout the semester. After the first assessment test, when you and many of your students are disappointed, is a great time to bring the focus back to this big idea. In the middle of the semester, when your syllabus timeline looks like a suggestion rather than a roadmap, is a great time to pull out the big idea. So that is it. Simple enough right? Try it out and let me know how it works for you.