What happens when people who do not know about learning teach people? And then what happens when people who do not know about learning styles teach teachers? And then what happens when people who do not know about skills development and acquisition hire people to teach?
We end up with universities full of extremely capable students and artists who, based on their natural talents, are put in front of a class and told to teach. They do their best to validate and seek validation for their passion and success and the university evaluates students on their present abilities in comprehending the content provided.
There is no awareness of skills acquisition.
Any knowledge gained by students is a haphazard process dependent upon each person’s personality. There is no interactive confirmation or development of new skills. There is certainly no live feedback on acquisition.
In talking with a tutor last week, in response to her exasperation at not knowing what elements of the content to focus on, I said, ‘Teacher Talk Time’, to which she said, ‘Huh?’
That any university on this planet would allow any staff to enter the learning environment without awareness of such a basic teaching tool is incomprehensible and is unforgivable.
I gave her the method to monitor how often the teacher speaks in a class and the how and why of that behaviour, and its consequences for learning. We also talked about her passion for teaching, confirming that reducing her talk time accentuates interactions with students and generates student output, both of which she loves.
The sham of ‘education’ espoused by academic institutions must be replaced with educational integrity: teachers must become educators. This may be the new public relations campaign where universities advertise their excellence in the field, not by merely hiring A+ students and successful practitioners, but by furnishing them with pedagogical awareness.
Teacher Talk Time
Student Output Focussed
Multiple Intelligences
Skills Acquisition
Visual, Audio, Kinaesthetic
Extending Competencies not Testing Knowledge
PPP vs TTT