The Core Assumptions of Skillful Teaching






As an educator with relatively little experience in formal classroom settings, Chapter 2 of Brookfield's "The Skillful Teacher" was both encouraging and somewhat relieving. All assumptions give more weight to teaching from an intuitive angle, which thus far has been my strength.

 As an experienced hairstylist I have developed an adept ability to efficiently process information from even the most subtle modes of human communication. This acquired skill will help tremendously specifically with Assumption # 3: Teachers Need a Constant Awareness of How Students Are Experiencing Their Learning and Perceiving Teachers’ Actions. Like working behind the chair, my students are technically my clients. I can't do my best work unless I am able to diagnose their level of comprehension and level of satisfaction with the material presented.

 My experience has also trained me to overcome fear of criticism; rather than taking it personally, I have the ability to easily to digest it and use it to tailor my work. I believe that students will be able to be more honest with their critiques once they understand this dynamic. It is a honed skill that they will also have to acquire in order to be successful in their careers, so putting that out there for everyone to be aware of early on in my program will be beneficial. Although I will be adopting traditional survey methods to evaluate student learning experiences because they they clearly have their place, I will not be relying solely on them due to their inherent flaws.

 https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/02/27/study-student-evaluations-teaching-are-deeply-flawed

© Courtenay Girard. All rights reserved. 






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