Learning how to learn

OK, so the rule is that we're supposed to post a blog on one session, but the idea for this post has built up over a few sessions. So what I'll do in the interest of sticking with the rules, we'll just call this the "Le Templar" blog.

So Le Templar gets up and says, "I'm not a teacher, so forgive me if I'm not doing things right." Then he goes on to present a very informative and engaging lecture complete with a clear definition of what editorials and columns are, models, and helpful handouts. So it got me to thinking, why is what he is doing right now so much more effective than some of the other presentations that we've seen? Why am I engaged? Why does it work?

I am a teacher and I have a "rule of thirds" of my own-You need to know your stuff (content), know your audience (student), and you need to know Pedagogy. This guy clearly had some idea of the last, whether he realized it or not.

I reviewed my notes and observed two things: first, some of the presenters shared with us what they do, not how or why they do it. For example, Pat Shannahan's presentation was awesome, right? We all loved it and were very entertained. But I didn't walk away feeling like I learned something that I could actually go back and do or teach. He just gave a lot of models.

On Monday, when Andrew Leckey spoke, he shared with us something that he is very passionate about: the idea that you must teach students to quantify everything. Then he talked about some of his beliefs, a lot about his philosophy of things, and we all enjoyed our excellent Mexican dinner. But again, I didn't walk away with anything added to my "tool bag," other than something to ponder that I had not considered before. Perhaps this will have greater impact later. But he just gave a lot of talk.

Templar was good at giving models, and giving talk. And he was very good at giving clear definitions of things, which showed his obvious awareness of his audience.

They all taught me something very important; you can't just show people what you do or tell them how you feel, a big part of teaching has to do with how to do something, why it is done as it is done and good models to show someone how the parts fit back into the whole. And you have to be aware of the people in front of you so that you can anticipate their needs and adjust your instruction accordingly.

And you know what else I learned? That when its time to do something hands-on and fun, everybody is excited. When I look at the schedule and I see "talk" or "presentation," I think, "OK, prepare yourself." But when I see "create," "design," "reporting" or "shooting" I think, "awesome, this is going to be great." Not only are they excited, but they are learning.

And when students get a chance to try something with their own two hands, be patient, give them time to learn it and let them practice it a bit. It doesn't matter how well you explain something or how completely if at the end you just have to start over again because students were three steps behind.

Perhaps, and I would imagine I'm not too off base here, we can remember this when we go back home. Are we aware not only of what students learn, but HOW? And if we are aware of how they learn, are we using that knowledge to maximize their learning potential?

Melissa Cordova
Eli Whitney Technical High School
Hamden, Conn.
PS I'm even more confused now about what journalism is, since it has gone from being "the news" to video, to writing and editing, to taking photos...and again, where do the magazines fit into all of this?