When Experience Is Not the Best Teacher

From the article, "Your Experience in Teaching" on the LERN website, comes some things to ponder.

Many of us have long subscribed to the slogan, “Experience is the best teacher.” We tell younger people that as they gain experience, they will build on what they learn. This is true, to a point. But can
experience also be a deterrent to change, a block to our learning or a barrier to new approaches and new ideas? The answer is yes, in too many situations.

For many of us, our experience can prevent us from looking at things in new ways. Likewise, our students: as much as we prize their experiences and try to incorporate them into our teaching, their experiences often prevent them from seeing things in new ways, from learning new perspectives, from truly learning in a profound way.

What can we do about this? How can we put in our own experience, as well as help our students see a new perspective?

•Develop a skeptical, constantly questioning attitude of your experience. Ask, “Do I want to do this again, in the same way?”

•Figure out ways of making the usual, unusual, the ordinary, extraordinary.
When things are horizontal, make them vertical. When they are squares, make them circles. Ask, “What is the opposite of this?” Or, “What are five ways of teaching this topic that I haven’t tried before?”