Post blog entry #7 in reaction to "Effective Teaching"

A coworker of mine often says "I'm not an expert, I just know enough about a lot of things to make me dangerous." This line resonated with me as I read through this week's chapter. Fortunately for everyone, my coworker uses his knowledge and deep understanding of technology to build and enhance rather than destroy. The teachers that Bransford describes, do much the same in their classrooms to create well rounded environments conducive for learning.

I had the opportunity to attend an event last week regarding Lehigh's presence in Second Life. During the session, many faculty discussed their experiences with Second Life thus far. There were two examples that really struck a chord with me that made me think these two individuals clearly exemplified what Bransford was describing.

Example 1
The first scenario involved using Second Life for a choral arts class. The teacher was using this service as a way for her students to have extra "recording" time. Each student was able to access the studio at their convenience and post a vocal recording. While this was a great idea and gave students additional recording time and availability, the next step taken by the teacher identified her as someone who can think beyond conventional ways. She encouraged all of her students to work with singers from other countries via Second Life. Since a lot of the songs the students had to sing were in different languages, the teacher identified the importance of understanding other languages, and working with singers with different primary languages provided and effective way for these students to improve themselves.

Example 2
The second scenario involved a science teacher that created molecular structures in Second Life. She described her research and years spent learning about one particular molecule and explained how she could never really wrap her mind around the structure until she built in a way that allowed her to fly inside of it and view it from many perspectives that were impossible otherwise. Although she noted that she had yet to identify how she intended to use this in class, it was clear that the intention was there to push this tool in ways that could help her students understand the content she is teaching. The drive that this particular teacher possesses is inherent in the examples in this chapter as well. You may not get something out of everything you try, but you'll never know what can be accomplished until you try.

As Bransford (2000) says, these kinds of teachers aren't just gifted individuals that can teach anything (p. 163). Effective teachers may not always be experts, but they know enough about a lot of things to do their job well, and help students to learn and understand. They posses a deep understanding of their discipline that allows them to use their pedagogical knowledge and content knowledge to lead a classroom and teach in sometimes unconventional ways.

Bransford, J. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.