Presenting Counterintuitive Methods of Teaching

Last Thursday and Friday, I had to privilege to address active teachers at the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) convention of delegates in Columbia.  Mr. Culbertson, Mrs. Mouton, and I represented Joplin association members at the annual event.  MSTA is a grassroots association that listens to members and does not dictate its agenda from the top down.  More than 700 delegates attended from every region of the state.

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In two of the breakout sessions for professional development, I presented information, reasoning, and examples in Stop Not Reinventing the Wheel.  I received feedback in the form of agreeing smiles and head nods (not nodding off!) throughout.  Each of the sessions were a full house; we ran out of chairs and handouts, and people had to sit on the floor or stand against the wall in the back of the room.

Much of what I presented is in my continually-developing education philosophy, which includes a hodgepodge of ideas:

• THINK outside the box.
• Stay inside the box, but think creatively of how to INNOVATE in such a small metaphorical space.
• Teach and react COUNTERINTUITIVELY.
• Don't give ANSWERS to students.
• Don't always give QUESTIONS to students.
• Allow students to CREATE their own paths.
• OWN the curriculum, but don't follow somebody else's script.
• TRUST students to discover meaning and methods.

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In our sessions, I showed participants how they might use music, video, and images to teach standards and concepts, I applied these to the needs of hyperactive and learning-disabled students, and I explained how to engage students through empowerment.

There was a lot of material to cover in the one-hour slotted.  I originally designed the material to be shown in two separate sessions, one entitled "I Am Music" and the other called "A Thousand Words".  Instead, MSTA wanted me to combine the sessions into a single whirlwind hour.  Teachers took notes and snapped pictures with their phones to remember some of the material.

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