2. Agenda
Revisiting the Teaching Perspectives Inventory and
our POGIL exercise
Questions about the course, syllabus, assignments,
Tonight’s assignment – Why Teach?
Stephen Brookfield’s assumptions about skillful
teaching
Understanding our classrooms

3. Brookfield’s Core Assumptions
of Skillful Teaching
0Skillful teaching in whatever helps students
learn.
0Skillful teachers adopt a critically reflective
stance towards their practice.
0The most important knowledge that skillful
teachers need is a constant awareness of how
students are experiencing their learning and
perceiving teachers actions.

4. More
complicated
than it sounds
Most of us
approach teaching
with
biases, intuitions,
hunches, and
habits that frame
what we do
Learners exhibit
bewildering
diversity of
racial, class, and
cultural
identities, as well
as readiness for
learning
Skillful teaching is whatever
helps students learn.

5. Give permission
for silence: You
don’t have to
speak up
The teacher is not
responsible for
motivating the
student
New learning
sometimes
generates
regression
Telling learners
that the course has
future benefit is a
waste of time;
instead, engage
peers to share
value
Comments about what it
takes to help students learn

6. Skillful teachers adopt a
critically reflective practice
What is critical reflection?
Process by which we research the
assumptions informing our practice
as teachers
… Through our students’ eyes
… Colleagues’ perceptions
… Literature
… Our own autobiography

7. Skillful teachers are aware of how students
perceive their learning and the teacher’s actions
Getting into students’
heads is tricky business!
Must ensure anonymity
to create trust
CIQ demonstrates
critical reflection
CIQ provides info on
hidden dynamics of the
classroom experience
Need an awareness of the fear
of new learning
To try and fail creates
embarrassment, public / private
humiliation, fear and anxiety
How does the teacher make it
easier (or harder) to ask for
help?
What teacher actions boost
confidence, and which ones kill
us inside?

8. Strategies for Understanding
the Classroom
0In your groups, take 5 minutes to discuss one of
these strategies. Describe what you like about
it and why? Are there any disadvantages?
0The One-Minute Paper
0The Muddiest Point
0The Learning Audit
0Student Learning Journals
0The Critical Incident Questionnaire

9. What students value in teachers
Indicators of credibility: Are
you believable?
Expertise
Experience in the field
being taught
Making the rationale for
classroom decisions
clear
Conviction
Indicators of Authenticity:
Trustworthiness, openness, honesty
Congruence – words
and actions match
Full disclosure
Responsiveness
Personhood

10. Carl Roger’s writings on
authenticity in teaching
Realness
Prizing, acceptance, and trust
Empathic understanding