Chapter 3: How Do They Prepare to Teach?

According to Bain, the traditional approach follows a transmission model where the teacher “does teaching to” the students by delivering truths about the topic. He contrasts this with a model where teaching is about managing learner engagement, encouragement, and creating a suitable environment for natural human inclination to learn can blossom.

The central questions about preparing to teach come not from what the teacher does, but rather what the student is to learn. Everything proceeds from that premise. Thus, planning is conducted backwards, beginning at the desired end state.

He provides four guiding questions:

1. What should students be able to intellectually, physically, or emotionally as a result of this learning?

2. How can I best help and encourage them to develop those abilities and the habits of the heart and mind to use them?

3. How can my students and I best understand the nature, quality, and progress of their learning?

4. How can I evaluate my efforts to foster that learning?

Bain begins with identifying a focus the course is to address. What’s the big question or questions this course seeks to answer? This is about generating student interest, curiosity, and excitement. Also at the forefront is identifying the thinking and reasoning abilities that will be required for students to tackle these questions.

The best teachers account for the mental models students arrive with that will need to be challenged. At this stage, a teacher would consider what knowledge the students would require, and how they might best obtain it. The emphasis remains firmly grounded in providing students what they’ll need to construct useful models, not on “giving” them information about the topic.

The author discusses at length in this chapter the need to have well-constructed problems and questions that challenge students to wrestle with important issues. Ideas in conflict are built into the DNA of the class to assist students in thinking critically about the issues.

What flows from these investigations are myriad tactical questions--like should the students problem-solve alone or in groups? How would groups be constructed? Should there be activities that will encourage group cohesion? How will questions for study be generated? How can I stimulate people to become self-directed in their learning?

Many of Bain’s questions encourage the teacher to recall how they learned the material--what questions they struggled with, and what methods they developed to make sense of the topic themselves. He also talks about the need for meaningful feedback and creating ways both teacher and student can evaluate progress.

I was really taken with this chapter. It seemed to me to revolve around constructing experiences that invite people to come learn and get interested rather than teaching at them and hoping some of it sticks!