Education Independence
Taking what you have learned to the masses.
I have a small confession. Okay, a rather large confession. I want everyone to teach. Not necessarily in the old model of standing in front of a class room with some text book, but in your way. How you wish you would have been taught.
Ask yourself, If I could go back knowing what I know now, what would I have had done differently? Then I want you to take those ideas and teach them to the people that are in the same shoes you were in.
You see, I believe we are all educators. In some shape or form, we all have something to teach someone else and we have the greatest tool imagined sitting right in front of us. We no longer need a classroom. All we need are hungry minds, a willingness to feed them, and an Internet connection.
Why Would I Teach? I Have Nothing to Say.
Teaching opens your mind and exposes you to ways of learning you have never imagined. The biggest lie you have been told is those that can’t do, teach.
Actually, those that can’t think about their craft outside of their little box can’t teach. Teaching isn’t for everyone. Some just don’t care enough.
If you care about what you do and want to help shape the future, I would like to help you get started.
Getting Started
The first thing you will need to do is generate a learning plan. You can use the term syllabus if you would like. In my experience, the word syllabus can receive negative reactions. It seems to remind people of the old model of textbook based teaching. I prefer learning plan, but it’s just a couple of words, use what you feel comfortable with.
The first thing in that learning plan is a set of goals. Given an expected outcome, like learning how to program, what things need to be taught and understood. This is always an eye opener. Especially if you have been past the beginner stage for a long time. It’s easy to forget what knowledge you take for granted. It’s important here to balance what knowledge needs to be taught and what’s it like to be a beginner. You have to put yourself in the beginner’s shoes and spend some time being empathetic to them.
My preferred method is to set 10-12 topics to be taught. This gives you clear and measurable goals. With these 10-12 topics defined, you will have a good idea of what resources you will need. Sometimes that is a book, but often it’s not. Sometimes I generate the material myself and other times I point to a resource online. Defining these topics will lead you to the right tools.
This plan that you have laid out for teaching this topic is an important step. Take a look at it. Where are there dependencies? If you are on goal 5, and 4 was not completely understood, can you proceed? Which topics are absolutely critical to learning?
You may need to spend a couple of lessons on one topic to really make sure it’s understood well enough to continue. That’s okay, it’s part of the learning process.
This has always been programming logic in my experience. I know if programming logic doesn’t click, the rest of the course will be difficult for both the student and myself. Make sure you drive these topics home. Make this one of the goals of the course. A milestone.
Delivery
Now that you have your plan laid out, defined some measurable goals, and you know your dependencies, it’s time to think about delivery.
You really need to think about the student here. What skills do they currently have? The last thing you want to do is introduce more learning on top of what they are already learning. If they are not that web savvy, maybe you should record some sort videos displaying how to send files or submit assignments. That last thing you want to do is spend valuable time giving the same instruction over and over. If they are competent in Microsoft Word, make sure you give them Word files, and request the same from them.
The software you use should allow them to perform a task with minimal frustration. It’s a huge hassle when the students can’t complete assignments because the tools you are asking them to use are confusing and difficult.
Growing and Teaching
The details I’ve outlined here will get you a good start on helping others learn what you know. And it gets easier, a lot easier. It’s important to iterate on the learning plan. Some things won’t work. That’s okay; try something new. There aren’t any rules. Do what works for you.
I’d love to hear about your experience with what works or doesn’t work for you. Hit me up on Twitter @scottradcliff or send me an email scott@10pixels.net
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