To have taught well is not to have used a great set of techniques or given
the learner some words to give back, but to have caused understanding
through words, activities, tools, guided reflection, the learner’s efforts, and
feedback. It is a complex interactive achievement, not a one-way set of skills.
In other words, we forget, given our blind spot, that the act of teaching—in
the sense of direct instruction (talking, professing, informing, telling)—is only
one aspect of causing learning (and not the most important aspect, if the
arguments in this book are compelling). The design of work for learning is as
important as—and perhaps more important than—any articulate sharing of
our knowledge. My insights cannot become theirs simply through osmosis. As
a causer of learning I have to be empathetic with the novice’s more naïve state
of mind and “uncover” my ideas through well-designed learning experiences—
which will surely include teaching but not be limited to it—to make what I say
real and not just words. Only experts (or highly gifted thinkers) can hear a
teacher’s words and do all the constructivist work in their heads, on their own,
without experiences, process guidance and tools (such as graphic organizers),
tasks for eliciting responses, and feedback in their attempts to show that their
learning has been successful.