Two Great Teachers and Three Pyramid Blocks

(The Heart of The Pyramid of Teaching Success)
Swen Nater

We now come to the heart of the Pyramid of Teaching Success, the third tier, a stage where teacher and student learning accelerates. The first tier is foundational and prepares one for becoming a life-long learner and, thereby, reaching success as a teacher. The second tier is where you, the teacher, employ four principles for self-study (like Einstein), come up with ideas, and bring them to the “learning community,”  a person or group that, collaboratively, questions, discusses, and scrutinizes ideas, turning them into well-founded principles for teaching, ready for classroom (or any teaching venue) application. 

What topics should a learning community cover and what positive effect can we expect from being involved in such a group? The heart of the pyramid answers those questions. Collaboration should deepen a teacher’s knowledge of the subject, improve his teaching methodology, and, because of those two, help that teacher be able to sustain top-notch instruction for a long period of time. The blocks are: Subject Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, and Conditioning.

Subject Knowledge (a deep knowledge of the subject matter)
Although as an elementary school student I was pretty good at math, there were two things that didn’t make complete sense to me. What in the world did “times” and “divided by” mean?

What did “2 times 36” mean? Was “times” a noun or verb? It wasn’t until middle school that things became clear. When My 7th-grade teacher told us to substitute “of” for “times,” it all came together. 2 of 36 is 72. 

What did “24 divided by 8” mean? Was 8 dividing something in half? What was 8 doing? When he had us replace “divided by” with “fit into,” I understood division. He asked, “How many times does 8 fit into 24?” Instantly, division became easy for me, not to mention fractions.

Pedagogical Knowledge (knowing how to teach so students learn)
My ninth-grade journalism teacher, Mrs. Rochte, was as resourceful as they came. I have no idea how she came up with all those creative ways to help us learn, but some of her lessons were works of art. One day, she was at the board, writing down reasons why journalists should be observant in any situation. She told us, when you are covering a story, you must never be distracted. Focus on the facts.

Right in the middle of her lesson, a male teacher sprung open the door,  stormed into the room and began yelling at her about something I can’t remember. Mrs. Rochte backpedaled all the way to her desk and leaned back as if frightened. He continued to tell her what he thought of her and, just before slamming the door and leaving, he threw an eraser into the blackboard. I felt so sorry for Mrs. Rochte and if I could have, I would have done something about it. But, although I was tall, I weighed about 150 pounds, soaking wet.

We watched as our teacher collected herself, slowed her breathing, and turned to the class. She said, “OK journalists. Take out a piece of paper and pencil. Write down everything he said, everything he did, and everything he wore, down to the color of his shoelaces.” Needless to say, we were very disappointed in ourselves, being tricked like that but, I never forgot the lesson.

Mrs. Rochte and my 7th grade math teacher owned a special kind of knowledge for teaching. My math teacher was able to make complicated ideas comprehensible to learners. Mrs. Rochte knew how to design opportunities for student learning that lasted. When a teacher knows how to help a student get “it”, to grasp underlying concepts, things get less complicated and clearer. Owning that special kind of knowledge for teaching distinguishes a professional teacher from other adults. Such teachers not only know their subject matter, they know how to help others learn and know it.

Conditioning (Moral, mental, emotional, physical endurance to be at your best all the time)
Conditioning, in sports, means being able to perform at peak level, especially at the end of a match or game.  Although conditioning for teaching is different, it is a fact. It takes mental, moral, emotional, and physical endurance to be at your best for not just an entire school day, but for a school year.

There is no substitute for time when it comes to conditioning. You just have to go through it, day after day, much like an athlete can’t get into physical condition in one week. But, gaining deep subject knowledge and pedagogical skill can speed up the process. Here’s the idea. When you know so much about your subject, you can’t dispense all of it in one year, you’re getting yourself in condition. When you have a good grasp on what it takes to help students learn, and more creative methods than you can use in one year, you’re getting yourself in good condition. 

“Of” and “Fit” were not the only deep concepts my math teacher knew; he had way more deep knowledge than he could give us in just one year.  Likewise, Mrs. Rochte, just about every day, had some creative way to help us learn. Every one of her lessons was an adventure. I don’t think I missed one day of school that year and I was sad when ninth-grade ended. And, I’m guessing, so was she. She probably had a lot more cool lessons up her sleeve.

Her lessons were creative, but she was not dreaming them haphazardly on her way to school. She had a rich library of professional knowledge for teaching, some she learned from others, some she created herself. She had that rich resource through focus, collaboration, hard work, and a commitment to finding better ways to help her students learn.

Conclusion: The Heart of the Pyramid Facilitates Student Learning
Your goal as a teacher is student learning and student learning is linked to student interest and engagement. When, through self-study, collaboration, and classroom application, you gain deeper subject matter knowledge, learn how to get that information across, and are able to do both at peak performance for a long period of time, students will get interested.  Here’s why. 

1. Students are attracted to deep subject knowledge and want it. They want to know why, not just how. They want to know what’s in the mind of a teacher that has mastered the subject. They want to be smart, like their teacher.   
2. Students respond to, not necessarily entertaining lessons, but resourceful, simple, and creative ways material is presented.
3. Students feel comfortable with a teacher that is consistent. Not all students become interested right away. Sometimes it takes weeks. Consistently leading students to the depth of subject matter simplicity and presenting that information in ingenious ways, can eventually inspire even the most resistant student.

“Once a teacher has sparked interest in the subject, the job is more than half finished.” Me