Teachers must foster understanding

Re: “Best teachers transform apathy into interest,” column, March 24; “Best teachers know how to make things relevant,” letter, April 1.

Geoff Johnson suggests the best teachers transform apathy into interest. The letterwriter makes the point that these teachers also relate topics to the lives of learners. I believe the ability to connect what has been and is learned to their lives is a key part of sense-making — perhaps one of the key parts of effective teaching.

Sir Isaac Newton reportedly said: “It is possible to teach any blockhead to repeat — the challenge is to foster understanding.” Understanding is demonstrated when students are able to connect or relate topics, ideas and/or principles to their experiences. Students should also be able to explain key principles and ideas in their own words.

A request on an examination to explain an idea in their own words usually elicits some type of response from most students.

One of my favourites (and I smile every time I think about it) is a response to this request: In your own words, describe the meaning of Cartesian product (a mathematical idea used to introduce children to multiplication). As her response to this request, one young lady drew a beautiful three-dimensional box with a wide ribbon around it that was tied into a nice big bow. In the corner of the box she neatly printed Product of Cartesia.

How might a response like this be evaluated? W.W. Liedtke Victoria