Master Teacher in the digital world
These coming days, learning can be difficult to both the teacher and the student, but it is not impossible. Teachers just have to be creative. We need to reorient our mindsets and accept that the traditional teacher-centric teaching method can, and will likely, be replaced with an equally effective online studentcentric learning method instead.
about four professor-student interactions (PSI) online via Zoom. instead of my usual scribbled notes in the school whiteboard, i present to them key points via Powerpoint as i share my screen during the PSI. Despite the lack of physical interactions, i believe i can still assess the performance of my students with the hope that they are learning what we have discussed through the mechanisms of quiz feedback and PSI. these coming days, learning can be difficult to both the teacher and the student, but it is not impossible. teachers just have to be creative. We need to reorient our mindsets and accept that the traditional teacher-centric teaching method can, and will likely, be replaced with an equally effective online student-centric learning method instead.
in history, one Master teacher radically changed the teaching methods that prevailed during his time. he was a creative storyteller with lots of credibility, whose stories shocked and awed many of his students and listeners. he used quite a lot of hyperbole not only to get his students’ attention but also to definitely get his lessons across. he taught not within the confines of a classroom, but in any place where people would want to listen to him. he asked a lot of questions to his students similar to a law professor. An avid promoter of visual communication, he made use of various tangible aids to communicate his message visually. Once he employed an actual child to teach child-like faith. he treated his students as his masters one time to teach the principle of servant leadership. he crafted some catchy sayings, the most widely known perhaps is what we now know as the Golden Rule. in the Bible, Luke 6:31 tells us that the Master teacher said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” the lesson sticks! We all remember!
Online learning can be just as effective as the traditional way of teaching. So, for educators like me, if we want to be an effective teacher, in the advent of this New Normal, let’s model our methods after Jesus, the Master teacher. As inspirational author Andy Stanley says, “Memorable is portable.” if our students remember what we tell them, then they have learned the lesson. Believers learn and apply lessons from the Master teacher all throughout their lives. in the same vein, our students will carry the lessons they have learned from us wherever they go now, and, more important, in the future. As teachers to their own children, parents are reminded to “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”(proverbs 22:6)
Society depends on us to teach our students and our children effectively as much as our country depends on them in the future as influencers in any of the pillars of society—religion, family, business, education, government, arts and entertainment, sports and culture, and media.
A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission.
For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.