Herman Najoli's blog

Method or Content?: How Effective Teaching Can Change Lives

A few minutes ago I came across this quote from Ashley Montagu, "In teaching, it is the method and not the content, that is the message ... the drawing out, not the pumping in". This quote got me thinking about what effective teaching really is. The truth is that anyone can deliver content. Method, on the other hand, comes from a person who has changed and altered his style through learning. Effective teaching therefore, comes through a changed person. You cannot change people's lives unless you have first changed. Content providers are a dime a dozen but changed people are rare specimen. Great teachers embrace change by learning new methods of teaching that impact their students greatly.

Towards an Empowering Philosophy of Learning

As a new dad it's thrilling to watch my fifteen month old grow and develop into a robust young man. The other day I was thinking about the volume of knowledge that he amasses! He is learning so much! I'm very sure that I would not be able to handle the amount of information that is flowing through his mind on a daily basis. It's amazing how high his belief in himself is. He expects 100% success in everything that he does. He will not accept anything less than 100%!

My fear though is that once he startes going to school, his creativity, imagination and inspiration will begin to dwindle. He will begin to learn that he has to raise his hand in order to speak, he has to memorize material because he will be tested on it, he has to think inside the box and color inside the lines. As an educator, I value the process of education but I think we sometimes lose our kids' creativity in the process of educating them. We should be teaching them how to learn, not what to learn. 

Here are brief thoughts on a philosophy of learning that I intend to personalize:  

1. The journey of learning should make use of a person's experiences. The goal should be to enable the student to grow and develop themselves. This therefore means that learning should be customized to the learner's strengths and skill sets. It should be student-centered and individualized.

2. Learning events should be EPIC. By this I mean they should be Experiential, Participatory, Interactive and Connective. Learning should be an experience - making use of all of the learner's senses. The learner should be an active participant in the process of learning. There should be give and take between teh learner and the teacher, plus the content. The learner should also be able to relate what he is learning to what he already knows.

3. Good learning should move the student towards being intrinsically motivated in the pursuit of advanced knowledge. Again, the learner should be learning how to learn for and by himself. Unless an individual picks up the tools and endeavors to educate himself, he will never realize his full potential. Learning should expose the learner to his potential.

4.  Learning should be relevant to the daily experiences of the learner. I think that one of the greatest tools for teaching is the life experience of learners. We normally spend so much money on creating and looking for diverse educational resources when we have the most effective resource available to us - the learner's experiences.

5.  Learning should be geared towards igniting a fire inside the learner so that they will embrace the journey of learning for themselves. The learner should be provided with glimpses of enlightenment so that they can pursue light by themselves. They should be driven by a purpose deep within themselves. 

The Teacher Goes Back To School

As a young educator at the University of Nairobi, I was trained to be an economics and commerce maestro - a preceptor of theories, ideas and knowledge that would enlighten my students to become kingpins of the discipline. I taught with this paradigm at the High School where I interned in Mombasa, Kenya until when I advanced to the Polytechnic in Mombasa, where I taught diploma students in Marketing, Personnel Management, Business Adminstration, Tourism and Accountancy. At the Polytechnic I was working with young adults as opposed to the teenagers I had taught at the High School. Most of them were my agemates and some a little older. I realized that my prior teaching approach and methodologies did not work for them. I had to "go back to school" and learn how to effectively teach the young adults.

My re-education was very fast. My openness to feedback from my students enabled me to have "fast-breaks" and score a ton of points with them. My growth curve, in terms of teaching, took a sharp turn upward. One of the earliest things I learnt was that I had to be a guide, as opposed to the expert I had been at the High School level. A guide walks with you as he shows you the way forward. He engages in conversation so that he can understand what your true goals are as you endeavor to make meaning out of what he is showing you. A guide values your experiences and shares in your joy as you both tour new terrains. A good guide is also a learner. As he shows you the vistas of new experiences he is also learning new things himself. He enables you to see how everything you are experiencing ties in to your ultimate goal.

My dad used to tell me that education is the fountain of wisdom. I have come to learn that learning is the key to ensuring that the fountain is always flowing. Teaching is learning - making that choice to go back to school every day. We teach what we need to learn most, a wise sage once said. I made many mistakes when I first started to teach at Mombasa Polytechnic. But I got better because I chose to learn from my mistakes. Am I there yet? Nope. I'm still in school. 

Teaching: A Journey, A Legacy, My Life's Purpose

I recently completed a training process with Berlitz International to enable me teach Swahili to people interested in traveling to East Africa or communicating to Swahili speakers. A few days later I went to Indiana Wesleyan University to interview for an adjunct faculty position in the College of Adult and Professional Studies. Teaching is a passion for me. Whether it be in a formal classroom or to a group of people on the street, I enjoy being able to assist people advance their knowledge. Sometimes I think of my grandfather, Daudi Najoli, who was the first man to convert to Christianity in my village when the missionaries came to Africa. He became a teacher and a pastor of the local congregation. While my journey has been very different, in many ways I am in a similar path towards a legacy as an educator. This blog will be an avenue for me to enhance my teaching through postings on what I am doing as I empower and educate others. I will outline my teaching philosophy, methodologies that I use - basically anything that I feel is teaching related in my life's journey and work. Join my neighborhood and let's make a difference that leaves a huge impact!