Friday, April 12, 2013

METHODS OF A MASTER TEACHER

More great stuff from my friend Lason Perkins whom I consider a continual learner.  He emailed a link from the TalentCode.com on the subject of the "master teacher."  It is a wonderful post and you should click here to read the entire post:

  • 1) Master teachers love detail. They worship precision. They relish the small, careful, everyday move.

  • 2) They devise spectacularly repetitive exercises to help develop that detail — and make those exercises seem not just worthwhile, but magical. As Denk writes, “Imagine that you are scrubbing the grout in your bathroom and are told that  removing every last particle of mildew will somehow enable you to deliver the Gettysburg Address.”

  • 3) They spend 90 percent of their time directing students toward what is plainly obvious. They spend the other 10 percent igniting imagination as to what is possible.

  •  4) They walk a thin line between challenging and supporting. They destroy complacency without destroying confidence. This is tricky territory, and requires empathy and understanding on both sides — particularly when it comes to understanding the moment when it’s time to move on.

  • 5) They do not teach lessons; they teach how to work. As Denk writes, they “ennoble the art of practice.”  (Isn’t that a fantastic phrase?)