Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Teaching Gaff

One goal of teaching is connecting the student, in a meaningful way, to the content. My view of teaching is that of a facilitator and "guide on the side" to excite and instill motivation to seek greater detail, and clarification of presented materials in the content.

It begins with a coherent syllabus that dictates how the class will be conducted and the rules of engagement for success pathways. That should also provide information on where the content for presentation, clarification and testing will come from (the "final authority"). That component is all important in this world of unlimited medical resources.

Worse case scenario...change your syllabus at will, teach with slides copied and pasted from a book we don't have access to and is not indicated in the syllabus, and Dr. Stead - Teacherteach in such a way to make it incoherent. That is my class. Same story, different term. Sad really. Just because you have an advanced degree, doesn't mean you know how to teach. I have to remember that. I've also learned that good teachers don't need advanced degrees. Frankly, I'm not sure that you need teachers to learn medicine. Dr. Stead taught me that. Great teacher.