EDST 124: Introduction to Teaching

This course invites students to think deeply about teaching. Questions that we will be exploring include the following: Is teaching an art, a science, or some combination of both? Why do people want to teach? How does our (and our students’) background play a role in our teaching? What choices do and should teachers have in what they teach and how they teach? What makes excellent teaching? What makes an excellent teacher? We will use four types of sources to stimulate our thinking about teaching. First, we will draw from our personal experiences, both as learners (where we have experienced teaching) and also as teachers (for those who have formal and/or informal experience as a teacher). Second, there is an academic literature on teaching. We will read short sections of some classic works on teaching, to see how scholars have considered questions such as those listed above. Third, we will watch and discuss movies about teaching. The experience of teachers and teaching has been explored in a variety of major movies – both from the US/Hollywood but also from many other countries (UK, China, India, France, and others). What aspects of teaching do these movies get right? And finally, we will watch and discuss videos of actual classroom teaching. This course is open (with instructor permission) to all students; teaching experience is not required. This course satisfies the PCE requirement for HGSE students in the TTL program.