Learning all begins with a question. The exact question does not matter; nor does its nature. The act of asking a question is where learning really starts. A question is the spark, igniting a flicker of passion for a topic. If nurtured, this flicker can grow into a strong flame. One question building to another, reaching into higher order concepts or broadening out into other areas of study. Questions, they are the beginning of all of it.
I have been a learner and a teacher my entire adult life. It began with teaching children how to ski and play basketball when I was in my late teens. It continued as a member of my university classes, where I was always willing to help other students with concepts that came easier to me. It has culminated in over ten years as a teaching assistant and tutor of both entry and upper level undergraduate students. I find joy in the act of explanation, whether it is complex scientific content to undergraduate students or where helium comes from to my nine-year-old niece. This most likely stems from my life long passion for learning. Being able to explain an idea in several different ways and to a variety of different people is proof that you truly have learned it.
It is important for a teacher to have a passion for learning. True, genuine passion is infectious. As it spreads throughout the learner, it grows in strength. Passion is the enemy of everything that stands in the way of learning. It will defeat those traits everyone of us have that hinder learning. Passion eats through shyness. It breaks down cynicism. It devours apathy. Every lesson a teacher give should primarily be focused on passing on such a passion.
As an educator, I find it important to act as a facilitator of knowledge. Students should be asking and answering questions themselves, with me to help guide the process. It is important to recognise that effective teaching is not forcing facts upon the learner. Learning can never be forced and in the grand scheme of things facts are meaningless. Facts are subject to change and easily forgotten. Teaching facts should be in the service of building an understanding of foundational concepts and developing useful skills. True knowledge cannot be memorized and regurgitated. True knowledge can be used.
To this end, I find it important to use mechanisms of testing that are authentic and appraise the use of skills and understanding of concepts.1 I don’t believe in exams for the sake of exams or assignments just to assign a mark. Testing should never be about the what, but about the why. As well, proper assessment can be used to further the learning process. Plenty of time should be given for projects to be done, and students should be given a great deal of direction before and during the process. It helps no one to give students comments on what they did wrong after they could have corrected their mistakes.
If asked, I would tell someone that good teaching is messy, full of mistakes, and never finished improving. A good teacher is a good learner. They are fun, funny, and fearless. A great teacher assumes their students will become the best they can be and wants nothing else but to help them find their way there. They want to infect their students with the same passion they have.
Most of all, I believe the best teachers never stop asking questions.
Wiggins, G. Educative Assessment, 1st ed.; Jossey-Bass Inc.: San Francisco, CA, 1998