How can I teach my students habits of thought that will last a lifetime?

Dear Aggie:

 

How can lessons and examples from classroom settings be applied to life beyond academia? Many of my students will probably forget the specifics of my course, but I want to instill something that lasts. 

 

~ Lessons That Stick 

 

Dear Lessons That Stick:

 

In their book The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, Michael Starbird and Edward B. Burger urge the reader “to learn habits of thought that will help you to meet the ongoing challenges of life—personal, professional, and societal.”

 

Throughout life we frequently face challenges analogous to taking tests, earning grades, and understanding course material. Instead of taking formal tests, we encounter daunting questions from employers or even family and friends; instead of earning grades, we are judged in the workplace and in social settings; instead of understanding course material, we regularly need to master new skills and absorb new knowledge to keep up with a rapidly changing world.

 

Starbird and Burger give the example of a class for advanced soloists taught by an acclaimed trumpet teacher. As the authors observed, the teacher asked his students to play an elementary warm-up exercise, which they all did with ease. The teacher then played the same exercise, but with a delicacy and richness that demonstrated the difference between competence and true mastery. To Starbird and Burger, this illustrated the significance of understanding seemingly simple concepts deeply, a value that teachers in any field can impart to their students.

Professor Starbird will be at NMSU on Tuesday, February 4 to deliver two sections of a workshop titled “What Students Can Keep for Life: Elements of Effective Thinking.” These workshops are designed to help faculty instill self-reliance, a love of learning, creativity, clear reasoning, and independence in their students, qualities that will persist long after course details have been forgotten. If you would like to learn more, please register here.

 

~Aggie