If you think about it, our "why's" often help us navigate the uncertainty that commonly comes along with taking on a new job or developing a new project. When the next steps are not as clear as we would like them to be, we can draw back to our initial reason for embarking upon the endeavor in the first place. Even our approaches to trail and error should be reflective of our "why". This is how environments can have a great idea, create a mission around that idea and hire people to carry out the purpose and never truly have to deal with disorganization or projects going off the rails. The "why" is firmly established and that message is clear to all who are concerned.
As an instructor, this train of thought can definitely be applied to several aspects of classroom instruction such as:
Learning Outcomes: This mean that the learning outcomes in your syllabus should align with the assignments, the class description and even the reading material. Learning outcomes should always be clearly stated and easy for students to comprehend.
Assignments: Assignments should never be viewed as busy work or time fillers. Creating empty assignments is the quickest way to derail the learning process. Assignments are best engaged when they incorporate elements of the initial mission of the course.
Class Activities: Whether the class activity is watching a documentary, going on a virtual fieldtrip or completing a research paper, when students understand "why" they're completing the task, this motivates them to participate. Class activities should always be tied into the quizzes, learning outcomes and even final exams and research papers.
Class Sessions: It is not uncommon for instructors to teach a course and have some days where there is no real direction. In F2F courses that meet frequently it is easy to fall into a pattern of, "just in time" teaching. While this can work sometimes, being prepared and staying on track is much easier when class sessions are consistently planned according to the "why".
Book Choices: Even your choice for both the mandatory and optional material should reach back towards the "why". Class participation is built on the strength of the ability for instructors to make all readings a pertinent part of the class discussions, the assignments and the overall understanding of the subject matter. It's really hard to get students to read material when there is no direct benefit as it relates to their overall performance in the course.
Our entire purpose behind why we teach in the first place must be reevaluated over time to be sure we remain committed to developing, designing and facilitating to the best of our abilities, while always searching for new ideas to file under the "why" section of our purpose.
In what ways do you keep your "why" as a primary thought when teaching your courses? Feel free to comment below.
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