Reflections of an Educator

I observe students. It is my way of discovering when a person studying at a school or college under my tutelage is "getting it." There is a sign in American Sign Language that is used for the word "understand." You take the index finger of your right hand and you flip it upward while holding your fist close to the side of your right ear. I remember this sign because for some reason it reminds me of a light bulb suddenly coming on. That is what I think of when I see that one of my students finally "gets" a concept that I am trying to communicate. It is always a thrill to see when the connection is made or when the "light bulb suddenly comes on."

Regardless of the teaching situation, individuals are at various levels of knowledge and have different educational needs. I find this to be true when teaching a middle school class with 35 students, as well as a community college class with 8 students. I consider both questions in each setting as I consider what information to present and how to fine tune that information to meet those individual needs. I broach the problem in two ways. First, I give a pre-test and I ask them to answer in writing an open-ended question.

Of course the pre-test consists of material related to the class material I will be teaching. For example I give a pre-test of math problems or scientific method for middle school students devoting time and attention to acquire knowledge of those subjects. In the same way, I would test for knowledge of basic legal terminology for a family law class at a community college.

I try to ease the anxiety level by telling students that the test is not graded, but for my information only. Although I tell students this, some feel anxious anyway. I remember my own anxiety when given a test that i couldn't study for in advance. So, to a greater extent, the open-ended question is more valuable. I ask such questions as "What would you like me to do to assist you in learning this material" or "what do you expect to gain from this class." I follow up with a discussion of the answers that I receive. This discussion breaks the ice by allowing different ideas and opinions to be expressed.

The more difficult part is deciding how to provide, bring and hand over the necessary information in a way that most students will "get it." This is more difficult to accomplish when working with a class of 35 as opposed to a class of 8. I find that using different modes of delivery simultaneously and as close in time as possible works best. I use visuals, the Socratic Method when appropriate, lecturing, modeling and some sort of "hands on" device adapted for that particular purpose. Then, I give a quiz to see where I have fallen short of my objective. I re-teach if necessary.

When I lecture, for example, I use some sort of diagram either on a board or on an overhead. Simultaneously, I hand out the same diagram on paper to each student to hold and examine. The student then is hearing, seeing and feeling the information that will hopefully provide an intuitive understand of what I am trying to convey. Modeling is always important to a greater extent in math and writing courses. For example, when teaching a legal writing course at the community college, it is necessary to teach students how to write a paragraph that applies case law to specific facts of a prior case, or one that has set a precedence. I use an overhead projector and write the paragraph. The students copy the paragraph to use as a model for their own assignment. When analyzing case law, there is little room for creativity. But, this method can be adapted to fit different teaching situations.

These are just a few examples of how I attempt to convey information to students. Of course, every situation is unique and requires imagination to reach your teaching goal.

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