Chapter 7: Thinking about Teaching and Learning

Throughout chapter 7 of “The Joy of Teaching” there were many different ideas and approaches to teaching that were presented. Some of the perspectives were conflicting, however what is important is that teachers learn from the philosophical ideas that have been presented to better their methods of teaching. One of the ideas that was expressed, which came out of John Dewey’s work, was that of not teaching students “what to think”, but instead “how to think” about their experiences (265). I hope that as a teacher I can implement an attitude of not just teaching my students the facts but of teaching them to think through the information they are given to develop their own understanding of the subject. Another important idea that was presented in this chapter was that a teacher needs to be familiar with the different ways in which people learn and have variety in their methods so that there are more opportunities for learning in the classroom (281). This is going to be critical for me to apply when I am teaching. I need to be aware of learning styles that my students have and differentiate in such a way that everyone has the chance to gain something from the experience. Lastly, when talking about the student-focused classroom, the authors focused on the idea that the teacher is to provide the opportunities for the students to learn so that they are able to make the knowledge they learned applicable to their own lives (286). I hope that I am able to instill in my students a love for the subject I am teaching, not just so they understand it, but so that they see its relevance in their lives. It is important that I make it clear to my students that the subject matter is not just about facts and ideas, but that it is applicable in their own interactions.