NOTE: The following is copied from a Moodle discussion we had on a book we were reading called To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink:
The major takeaway that I’ve had from Pink’s book isn’t necessarily what I’m selling but how I’m selling.
“First, in the past, the best salespeople were adept at accessing information. Today, they must be skilled at curating it—sorting through the massive troves of data and presenting to others the most relevant and clarifying pieces. Second, in the past, the best salespeople were skilled at answering questions (in part because they had information their prospects lacked). Today, they must be good at asking questions—uncovering possibilities, surfacing latent issues, and finding unexpected problems.”
The idea that the classroom was ever about access to information was kind of a red herring, but even more so today. I think there is much more to be said for people who can go beyond knowledge transfer and get students to think about how to interpret and present ideas utilizing their newly attained knowledge. Even more so, I’m really interested in the idea of the end result being “good questions.” I saw a tweet recently that was pretty funny:
Here's the learning #outcome I want to see on more syllabi: "students and teachers will discover stuff they don't know." #USNHshare
— Jesse Stommel (@Jessifer) May 28, 2015
What’s this have to do with my professional self? I’m still wrestling with that one, but I think its really a way of rethinking the value that I bring as an instructor. It’s not as a content expert, though that’s helpful and empowers me in ways I couldn’t do so in other subjects. Rather it’s my ability to challenge students beliefs about their own limitations. I would love some other people’s thoughts and input on this idea.