Monday, August 15, 2005

'Do you Expect Me to Pander to the Students?' The Cold Reality of Warmth in Teaching by Robert Bruner

Robert Bruner has a really good piece on teaching. He discusses the ability to bring "warmth" to the finance classroom.

Do you Expect Me to Pander to the Students?' The Cold Reality of Warmth in Teaching by Robert Bruner

A quick intro:

"It is entirely possible to be warm and a tough teacher; to be warm and teach a dry technical subject; and to be warm even when you don’t feel like it. The effective teacher uses warmth as a stylistic tactic to promote student learning"
"Good teaching starts with a student-centered perspective. To gain this perspective requires direct engagement with students. Warmth, as a style, helps the engagement and thus the learning process."

Good reminders!

Cite:
Bruner, Robert F., "'Do you Expect Me to Pander to the Students?' The Cold Reality of Warmth in Teaching" (June 2005). http://ssrn.com/abstract=754504

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hard Nice v. Soft Nice

As educators, we are often called upon to manage information, communication and actions...in front of groups of people in a rapidly changing world.

First I taught elementary, then High School, now I present professional seminars (www.davidco.com) around the world. I am called upon to work for corporate executives, new hires, supervisors, line workers, young people, experienced people, and more. Often times what works for one person might not work for the other person sitting next to them...so, we have to change.

Nice and quiet are not always equal, just as warm and caring can be on opposite sides. Just because I am quick and to the point with one person does not mean I can do that with the next.

SO...thanks for reminding me about the continuum we use when we present information to groups of people.