When I started teaching, I’d say things things like:
I want to blend Depth and Complexity with 21st-century, project-based learning and add a student-led maker space on top.
Once, my mentor overheard me. She asked, What problem are you trying to solve?”
Uh… well. I didn’t know! I wasn’t really trying to solve a particular problem. I was just… adding more stuff?
But I already had WAY too much stuff to do!
I Needed A Prescription, Not More Medicine
It’s like I was grabbing medicine off a shelf without consulting a doctor. “Why are you taking those pills, Ian?” “Oh, someone at a conference said they were good.” 😬
I can’t go to a pharmacy until a doctor writes me a prescription. Likewise, I shouldn’t go to a conference to look for “ideas.” I should only go to a conference if it will solve a specific problem. But! Most problems don’t require a conference. Most teaching problems have free, quick solutions.
Big Problems With Simple Solutions
If you watched me teach, you would not have said, “Oh, Ian just needs to ‘blend Depth and Complexity with 21st-century, project-based learning and add a student-led maker space on top!'” 😝
You would have spotted fundamental teaching problems, like:
- Ian talks 10× more than his 36 students combined.
- Ian waits less than 1 second after asking a question, then answers his own question and moves on.
- Ian doesn’t check for understanding during his lessons. Many students already “get it,” but he doesn’t know.
- When a student raises their hand and enthusiastically gives the wrong answer, Ian has no idea how to handle this incredibly common situation.
All of these problems are pretty big. They’re fundamental. Yet they have pretty simple fixes! If the diagnosis is, “Ian doesn’t give students enough time to think,” then I should silently count to 3 after I ask a question. (I wrote more about Wait Time here).
So, my actual problems had obvious solutions. I just didn’t realize I was making these fundamental mistakes. I was too busy gathering MORE IDEAS to stop and fix my actual teaching errors.
This Is Common
I see this every week in the emails I receive. I spoke about it in this Byrd Byte:
Rather than reaching for more new ideas, consider, “What is my biggest problem right now? How can I solve that?”
For most people, their biggest problem is “I have way too much to do!!” So most PD should be laser focused on reducing teachers’ workload, not adding more and more and more ideas. (This is why I stopped leading workshops to focus on Byrdseed.TV. You don’t need me to talk for an hour about “lesson ideas.” You just need the darn lessons!)
Get A Checkup First
So, if you want to get better at teaching, first get a checkup. Have someone who knows what they’re talking about watch you teach. Or record yourself and watch it back. Look for the lowest hanging fruit. There are 2 or 3 things that will make a huge difference with relatively little effort. This is the diagnosis!
Once you have a diagnosis, then you can get a prescription. How can I fix this? Ask veteran teachers. Email me! There might be a simple solution. Humans have been teaching for thousands of years, and we already figured out a lot of the basic stuff.
And, if your number one problem is, “I don’t have time to write great lessons!” Well, Byrdseed.TV’s the solution for you! 😝