The hardest thing for me as a teacher is letting go.

Teaching my students about molecules is like teaching a child to ride a bike.  There’s that moment when the young cyclist has almost got it, when my stabilizing hand leaves the back of the bicycle seat.  That’s when learning happens.  If I never let go, my students would likely never fall down; they would feel very secure.  However, they would also never feel the wobble and right themselves, muscles taking note for next time.

I struggle with the student-centered classroom because it seems so messy.  In particular, I struggle with the realization that the students actually know things that I did not tell them. They do not need me to discuss each detail of the course text, to test every possible misconception.  My students do not need me to hold on.  I see the power of JiTT and I know cerebrally that we should spend our class time on things that are difficult–even if they are difficult out of order–rather than on my manicured power point slides.  I guess I worry that I’m not quick enough on my feet or that I will seem disjointed or disorganized when I am not.  I worry that I’ll get stumped without a good example or that only the vocal students will get attention.

When I am an old professor, my slides will be nothing but student questions or figures.  We will spend time only on things that at least one student has indicated is important.  And perhaps there will be a bike at the bottom of the syllabus, to remind me.