As I mentioned in part one of this series, Addressing the "How-To" Gap in Education, educators often struggle with a gap that is created between their knowledge of theories and methods and their ability to transfer that knowledge to their students. They understand these concepts, but don't know how to deliver them in a way that keeps students excited and engaged. To close this gap, universities must teach future teachers
how to deliver content in ways that reach their students. Graduate schools of
education must do this too. Yet, for the most part this is not done. A professor
in the graduate school of education at a major university told me how
difficult, if not impossible, it is to get courses on "how to teach" included
in the curriculum.
Closing the "how-to" gap will also require that
experienced teachers learn these important attitudes, skills and techniques.
True, they are taking in-service workshops and seminars, but most simply do not
offer what the teachers need in order to deliver that final ten percent.
I've been in this field for over 25 years, and in that time
I've seen some great teaching. I've
seen students at every level, from primary grades to adult education, become
engaged, excited and positively enthusiastic about learning. I've seen
attendance soar, test scores rise and discipline problems disappear. I have
seen what works put to work in the
classroom. It's not magical, it's not difficult, and it's not expensive. Some
teachers discover it for themselves.
But just imagine if every
teacher were able to bridge the "how-to" gap. What would school be like if
teachers were able to "reach" their students consistently? What if everything
they did was on purpose, interesting and engaging? What if every student found
learning exciting? What if they got the message that they are bright and
capable and bound to succeed? What if teachers knew what they needed to do in
the classroom so that the students actually learned and retained what the
teachers were trying to teach?
When taught how to effectively deliver content to get the
outcome they want - joyful, engaged, successful learning - rookie teachers say,
"This is what I thought I'd learn in college but never did." Veterans say, "That's what I've been trying to do my
whole career. That's why I got into teaching in the first place." We must teach
teachers how to deliver content in a way that "reaches" students and makes the
content meaningful and relevant to their lives.
It All Starts
Here and Now
Yes, we're failing our children, and closing the "how-to"
gap is an answer to this horrific problem. Every minute we delay in filling the
"how-to" gap, that's one more child we've failed - one more frustrated teacher
with passion and heart, standing before a class frozen, wanting badly to reach
students, and not knowing how. Learning ABOUT teaching, but not HOW TO teach is
not okay. We cannot afford to wait any longer. We have to make a start-here and
now.
Next week I will share some tips with you on HOW TO close the HOW-TO gap in education.