“The most difficult thing about education is teaching a subject you love to someone who doesn’t care.”

Timothy K. Loper, PhD

I believe the following six aspects of teaching are paramount in achieving this seemingly impossible task:

1. The Teacher's Passion!
1. Teaching Philosphy:When the teacher is passionate, the energy and enthusiasm displayed by the teacher is contagious! (Hisley, Kempler & Patrick, 2000) McKeachie (1999) writes, “Effective lecturers combine the talents of scholar, writer, producer, comedian, entertainer, and teacher in ways that contribute to student learning” (p 66).

2. Establish Relevance!
1. Teaching Philosphy:Teaching content within the context of real-world examples and problems helps keep the students engaged (Jenson, 2000).Seemingly isolated and disconnected facts with no relevance to real world application results in poor transferability and critical thinking (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

3. Teach content knowledge and critical thinking simultaneously!
1. Teaching Philosphy:Problem-Based Learning uses problems that are firmly grounded in real-world situations, are relevant to the everyday lives of students (contextualized), and critical thinking and problem-solving are closely linked to the content (Bouchard, 2005). The misconception is you must teach the knowlegde first, and then teach critical; however, research has now revealed that the brain is more like a parallel processor, capable of performing many functions simultaneously, which means the process of learning is more complex and nonlinear than once thought (R. Caine & G. Caine, 1995). Consequently, knowledge and critical thiking need to be taught simultaneously.

4. The standards are not the end!
1. Teaching Philosphy:Wiggins and McTighe (2005) assert the standards are not the end, but the means to developing an effective curriculum. The question is not whether the students know the standard, rather what can the students do with that knowledge, which can be addressed with higher-level questions

5. The students must be engaged and part of their own learning!
1. Teaching Philosphy:Interactive Lectures, hands-on learning, and Language-Rich Teaching engages the students in the learning process, and involves them in building their own bridges to previous knowledge (Lee & Whiting, 2000).

6. Students must learn as a scientist (Or Historian etc)!
1. Teaching Philosphy:The teacher helps (acts as a guide), but does not build the knowledge for them (Brooks & Brooks, 1999). Dewey (1938) posited these ideas on learning within the Progressive framework of education, meaning children should learn as if they are scientists (or a historian for example), a notion also endorsed by Bruner (1960). These ideas are now a part of the modern philosophy of constructivism.

The Science Fiction Novel by Dr. Loper Click here for more information.

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