Unless you are someone who intends to work in a classroom or an academic setting, you may not immediately identify yourself as a teacher. However, no matter what your professional aspirations may be, we all have unique skills and perspectives to share. While many of the metaliteracy quests focus on your role as a learner, it is equally important to be adept at teaching. What does it mean to “teach”? How can we begin to think about this very common, but complex, activity? How can we imagine ourselves as teachers?

One definition of teaching might be to teach someone a skill – like how to knit.

Another definition might be to impart knowledge about a particular concept or idea.

And yet a third is to teach others to become teachers themselves – how they can use that skill in their own right, and then pass it on with their own perspective as added value.

Think about a great teacher you have experienced in the past. What did that person do? Why was this person effective? How did you feel when you were learning? How did the topic become important to you? Keep this person in mind, as you will revisit these reflections at the end of the challenge.

A good teacher...

• Uses techniques to make students self-actualize. They get the learner in touch with what he or she already knows, and then develop that learner’s potential.

• Meets learners where they are, and uncovers and values tacit knowledge.

• Does not promote rote learning or repetition, but rather encourages the development of new ideas and independent thinking.

• Encourages imagination and self-reflection.

• Helps students to become self-regulated learners, encouraging them to navigate and adapt to changing contexts.

• Recognizes their own boundaries (disciplinary, historical, textual, etc.), and then encourages students to stretch learning beyond their own culture, ethnicity, and historical moment.

• Summarizes information, making analogies, and telling captivating, vivid, and relevant stories, that can help students relate to and identify key points.

Think about something you know very well, but that you have never taught. How would you go about teaching this topic or skill to another person? To help you think about this, please watch and reflect on the following video:

Now read this short article: Ten Best Teaching Practices I've Observed by Dr. Charles A. Taylor. Based on your observations and thinking thus far, how would you go about developing the skills inherent in a great teacher? What insights and skills help you to impart and communicate a topic of interest to you?

Locate a video that you think best demonstrates what a good teacher does. Include a link to the video and write a brief reflection about why you picked this particular example. How does this example relate to the bulleted list above and to your reflection on the characteristics of your best teacher? What additional characteristics do you see in this video?