Teaching and Learning

In the classroom, where learning is the goal, the line between teaching and learning is often blurred. The teacher's job is to create the environment and provide the tools that foster learning.

The studetns are not the only ones who learn; the teacher is not the only one who teaches. It is a two-way street in which every participant brings knowledge to the table. In a good classroom that street is kept open for two-way traffic. Everyone benefits when knowledge is shared.

Paolo Friere articlulated this in his book The Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

Tomorrow, I begin teaching my first English classes at Fudan University, and I am relying on the students to share their knowledge with me, to teach me. What is the classroom culture? What are their expectations? What do they want to learn? How does the overhead computer projection system work? Where is a good place to eat lunch?

Let the knowledge traffic flow . . . two-ways, of course.