Teaching is an act of learning. When we monitor the faces and words of our learners, we are learning. When we accept learners’ ideas and build context between their ideas and our learning goal, we are learning too. When we prepare a new lesson or a lesson in a new context, we are learning. Every environment I teach in requires me to actively notice and read the mental and emotional state of my learners. I must meet them where they are both knowledge-wise and emotionally. I plug their ideas into the broader landscape of the learning goal – a learner who does not see their mind reflected in the learning context does not feel a part of it. Learning and teaching is ultimately about building community together, to explore the world of ideas together.
Museum teaching is object-based. The foundation of most museums is the collection and therefore the core ingredient of most museum education is object-based learning. The special experience of being in front of an authentic object, and by extension its maker, keeps people engaged and excites their imaginations. Museums afford visitors an opportunity to reset the parameters of their world and refuel their ‘what if’ tank. Teaching is adaptive. Whether in the moment or planned ahead, teaching must react to and address changes and differences among all learners. Each subject may require a different teaching tool or technique, and each group of learners in the same program may require a different approach. A teacher reacts to the needs of the subject and the learners, pulling from a suite of teaching strategies to meet these needs. |