In my previous blog posting, I wrote about the challenge of evolving from being a good teacher to being a great teacher. I talked about the criticism that often surrounds college education. In general, the argument is, “It is not good enough and it costs too much.” I believe if more teachers moved from being good to being great, that criticism would largely die out. Our world needs more great teachers and our colleges and universities should make that a number one priority if they want to survive.
On November 29, I suggested that college teachers should invent a teaching award that they would then strive to win in their classes. My point was that working toward such an award (even if completely made up) would help focus each person’s teaching in a very personal way. I still think that is a great idea. (If you have read my blog over the last decade, you already know the two awards that I seek to win each and every semester.)
Over the past two weeks, I have thought a lot about moving from good teaching to great teaching. Such deep thinking is helpful for teachers (especially me). We need more in-depth consideration of what great teaching is and how to achieve it. I believe every university should start that conversation on some serious level.
I decided to follow up today with another blog essay on becoming a great teacher, but I wanted to approach the challenge from a different angle.
There is a foundational imperative for great teaching that I believe many people do not understand and, therefore, fail to address. For me, the essence of great teaching is being able to go down two parallel paths every semester at the same time. The first is the conveyance of subject matter. Whether the course is physics, accounting, Shakespeare, art history, political science, or whatever, every teacher has a plethora of information that must be communicated to students. College courses are built on helping students learn sufficient basic information whether it is about Einstein, Botticelli, Prospero, or Machiavelli. In my mind, you cannot discuss art history without knowing who Botticelli is.
The second path is more complicated and is often overlooked even by some very good teachers. It is the development of each student’s critical thinking skills. When people complain about college education, I rarely hear them complain about a lack of subject matter knowledge. Instead, they complain that, “Students today cannot think.”
I recently discussed this concept with a friend and I slowly moved my two hands upward in parallel, “The right hand is the subject matter. The left hand is the development of critical thinking. For a class to be great, the two hands have to play off each other—pushing each student along to achieve learning that is comprehensive, thoughtful, and usable.”
I suspect that many, if not most, college teachers do a pretty good job teaching subject matter. I do not often find that to be a huge problem. I am a much bigger cynic when it comes to developing a student’s critical thinking skills. From my perspective, lectures and testing, the heart of many classes, often seem to never go beyond subject matter communication. If that is the case, then it is no wonder that college education is criticized. No matter how good subject matter conveyance can be, it will not create great teaching by itself. That, to me, is a firm belief.
If I were a provost, I would issue a challenge to my school, “How do we go about being truly successful at both subject matter communication AND the development of critical thinking? I am not speaking of senior honors courses. I am talking about every single class that a student takes at our school from their first day to their last.”
I have taught in college for 51 years and I believe that is the essential problem that we have to solve if our educational institutions are going to survive.
The sad part is that I do not have an answer for you on how to do that. I know how I try to develop critical thinking skills in my students, but every teacher has to attack this challenge in their own way.
Here are some of the tactics that I use.
--I have not lectured in any form since 1991. In my mind, a lecture is only leading your students down one of those two paths. By 1991, I was sick and tired of being a “one-path” teacher.
--I give questions to my students 48 hours in advance of every class I teach. Some of those questions are easy. A simple reading of the book will suffice. Many of the questions, though, ask the students to go a step (or two) further. They require the students to think about a situation and come up with a reasonable idea or a unique response or a possible hypothesis. I want to know what they think more than what the answers are. My favorite quote is from James Thurber, “It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” Nothing probably defines my class better.
--In class, we discuss each of those questions. Obviously, the students struggle. Thinking is really hard. I cannot make that easy. One of my favorite class responses is, “Figure it out.” Even if they arrive at the wrong conclusion, I want them to arrive at a reasonable conclusion. It is good practice for them. Being wrong is no sin.
--For my tests, I always allow the students to have a couple of sheets of notes. Why? Because those sheets, force me to write more thoughtful questions. Any test question that tests memory is simply leading them down one of those paths but not the other. Plus, with the Internet, memory is no longer as important as it once was. I want to put them in a position that they have never considered so that I can see how they respond. (If you have ever wanted to be a coach, that sentence should resonate with you.)
--I often set class questions and test questions in alternative universes just to force the students to think differently. “Assume you are on the planet Krypotien and you have the following situation, what would you do next?” “Assume Shakespeare was transported to the current year, what play would he begin to write first?”
I
could come up with other tactics but you probably get the point and I don’t
want you to become a clone of me.
**
Okay, here is my challenge for you today. Make a list of the specific tactics that you use that are designed to help your students develop their critical thinking skills. That is a simple, non-confusing requirement. A tactic should involve subject matter conveyance but it must also force the students to do something that will have a positive effect on their critical thinking skills.
When
you finish your list, send me a copy at Jhoyle@richmond.edu
and then send a copy to the students you will be teaching in the spring. Students will always react better if they understand
what the teacher is trying to accomplish by the work that is being required.
