TITLE: A Lesson about Learning from a Self-Aware Teacher
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: February 20, 2013  3:32 PM
DESC: 
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BODY:
In a reminiscence on his experience as a student, John Cook
<A HREF="http://www.johndcook.com/blog/2013/02/19/mechanical-vibrations/">
   writes</A>:

<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
I enjoyed learning about it as a student and I enjoyed teaching
it later.  (Or more accurately, I enjoyed being exposed to it
as a student and really learning it later when I had to teach
it.)
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

It is a commonplace for anyone who has taught that we learn
a lot more about any topic when we teach it -- even a topic
in which we are acknowledged experts.  Between organizing
material for instruction and interacting with people as they
learn, we learn an awful lot ourselves.

There is, however, a hidden gem in John's comment that is
not so commonly talked about: "I enjoyed being exposed to it
as a student...".

As teachers, we do well to remember that our students aren't
<EM>really</EM> learning something when they take our courses,
especially when the course is their first encounter with the
material.  We are merely exposing them to the topic, giving
them the lay of the land and a little vocabulary.  The course
is an opportunity to engage with the material, perhaps again.
If we don't keep this in mind, we may deceive ourselves with
unrealistic expectations about what students will know and be
able to do at the end of the course.

A second advantage of remembering this truth is that we may
be on guard to create opportunities to deepen their exposure,
through homework and projects and readings that pull them in.
It is through our students' own efforts that learning takes
place, and that our courses succeed.
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