January 16, 2004
Two Tips
Just some thoughts I had after a full day of teaching yesterday....
- Let the Cat Out of the Bag
- Because it is the nature of our jobs to preplan, we often "hold back" material that we've planned for later in the hour or later in the term or later in the student's curriculum. But "holding back" knowledge can sometimes stifle the natural flow of the class. If the students are pressing forward, show your cards and then keep moving forward. The class will go further than it would have if you stuck to your plan.
- I taught plot structure a day early in my fiction writing class because I discovered that they were already asking questions about it and some of the students had already done the reading in advance. So I taught next week's lesson a week ahead of plan. Sure, I'll have to come up with something new for next week, but that means I've actually got an opportunity, now to go deeper into analyzing examples and giving students more time for in class writing. And I bet their writing will be better for it, because now they have more knowledge about what they're actually doing.
- I taught plot structure a day early in my fiction writing class because I discovered that they were already asking questions about it and some of the students had already done the reading in advance. So I taught next week's lesson a week ahead of plan. Sure, I'll have to come up with something new for next week, but that means I've actually got an opportunity, now to go deeper into analyzing examples and giving students more time for in class writing. And I bet their writing will be better for it, because now they have more knowledge about what they're actually doing.
- The Ear Forgives
- I borrow this phrase from Chuck Rainey, who mentioned it on his video tutorial for playing the bass guitar. "The ear forgives." What Rainey means is that you can make mistakes when you're playing and the audience probably won't hear them...or if they do, they'll pardon you for it because all the other notes are right and they just want to dance or jam or whatever. Same goes for flubs in the classroom. If you say something erroneous or illogical, don't freeze or over correct Just keep teaching. Naturally you want to correct errors so that the student isn't miseducated. But if you say something you didn't want to, don't worry: the student ear will forgive.
- Teaching can sometimes be like improvisational jazz. The students are like the other players in the band, who you have to be in tune with and who's music you can often "play off" and play a solo (e.g. lecture). The content sets the key; the student involvement beats the tempo. But when you're playing your solo, the fingers might slip, the horn might squawk, the amp might wail with feedback. No bother: the ear forgives.
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Comments
From the peanut gallery, I applaud your decision to "go with it." We, as students, ask questions because we are beginning to understand a point and care enough to seek clarification. By next class, we might forget to ask, or have preconceived notions that may override what you say on the subject when you get to it. The teachers who are ineffective are the ones who are inflexible on their lesson plan and out of tune with their audience.
Hey there Mr. Improvisation. Great points about teaching. I hate the term "teachable moment, but if the students are engaged, then playing off of their interests will certainly give them more than sticking to an outline. I think we can make a fetish of content, even though we know well enough that most of what will leave the course with the students won't be in our lecture notes.
Hey, Dr.A, just wondering, how many books have you written? From what I have read in the blogs so far sounds really good :-)
Hey thanks for the feedback, everyone! You've made me even more convinced that it's all about flexibility and attentiveness to the student's needs while not comprimising your curriculum.
Sue: if you go to my creative writing home page -- http://www.gorelets.com -- and click through the "All About Arnzen" link you'll find the answer to your question. In fact, you'll probably be sorry you ever asked. ;-)
Hey Dr.A.
I noticed that you have different publishers for each book. Do most authors try to go to different publishers each time? I thought they had to have some kind of contract? What all do you have to do when you go to a publisher? I was just curious. :)
Sue: Writers can do whatever they like with their work -- they own the rights. But often writers will sign what's called a "first option" clause in a book contract that allows the publisher to have "first dibs" on the next title the writer produces, so that they can sort of keep the writer in their stable and bank on his/her name and rep and steady audience. I go to different publishers because the books are substantially different types of books (story collections, poetry volumes, novels) and, often, sell to the highest bidder :-) To learn more about the process of publishing, you'll have to study a book like How to Get Happily Published by Judith Applebaum or even just WRITER'S MARKET. Or take my course, "Publication Workshop" when it's offered again in 2005.
Thanks for posting these. Both scenarios are occasions I recognize from my own classroom, but hadn't really articulated. I appreciate that you think of having to refill future lesson spaces as an 'opportunity'. Doing that might let me relax more when I feel a class exploding my carefully arranged schedule right before my eyes.