Nonconscious learning

In our readings this week we learned a bit about nonconscious learning - what we learn and our students learn that we are not aware of. I liked a pull quote in the chapter that summed up the idea that there is a big difference "between teaching and learning."

The chapter outlined many different ways that students can perceive certain things about the teaching, class or material that is not spoken aloud as part of the lecture. One thing I found particularly interesting that I mentioned in a previous post is the teacher's appearance. Since the beginning of the semester I have tried to make sure I always dress professionally when I will be teaching either of my classes. While I know this is not important to all teachers, it is important to me mainly because of my age and look - some of my students are the same age or older than me and so by dressing like an instructor and not a student I can be sure to separate myself from them on that level. In general I think it's important to dress for where you want to go and not where you might think you are - while I am only a graduate teaching assistant right now, I want to teach after I graduate and so there is no reason not to start dressing for success now! While I've thought these things, both consciously and unconsciously in the past, it was interesting to read that there is research to back up my thoughts that how a teacher dresses can unconsciously send the students a message and affect how they learn.

The chapter gave various tips for how to make the most of unconscious learning. They fell in line with many of the tips we already learned in books like Train Smart and the Ultimate Training Handbook - for example, active learning, varying the visual field and incorporating stories and examples. The first one is one I find particularly important as it sets the whole tone for everything I do as an instructor in my classroom: "Model a positive attitude and enjoyment of learning." I try to do this in various ways, keeping my statements positive, leaving life problems at the door when I go into the classroom and giving students personal examples about material that has helped or struck me. Showing the students why I care about what I teach is, I think, a great way to get them to care too, or at least get them to think about why they should care. This ties in to a later section of the chapter which talks about suggestion; everything we do and say in a classroom suggests something to the students. So if we can strive to make our suggestions positive and affirming as much as possible, we can increase student learning and potential.