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Tuesday, October 23, 2012

How to Balance the Art & Science of Teaching

How to Balance the Art & Science of Teaching:


How to Balance the Art & Science of Teaching

Recently, I gave a TED talk outlining why I think we’re in the midst of the most exciting and difficult time to be a teacher in American history. These sorts of things are always an imperfect effort to inject new ideas into the stratosphere, but I received lots of nice comments and feedback, including some observations that only a mom – my mom – would share (“Your posture was very relaxed, and you never even said ‘um’!”).
It was another thing my mother said that struck me, though. “Do you feel sure that your audience knows what todo with all you’ve said?” she wrote.
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Great point, and I’m not sure. So here, as simply as I can say it, are three specific things – some big, some small – we need to do to help teachers get better at helping children learn and grow.
1. Follow the Med School Model – As any M.D. knows, different medical schools have different strengths and weaknesses. But one thing every medical school shares is the belief that a strong medical training is built on a