1.2 Understand how students learn
It is imperative for me to know how my students think and what they believe in relation to what we are learning. With that information it is then possible for me to lead students from their current way of thinking towards a better, more complex, and more sophisticated way of thinking and reasoning. To me it is essential that my students use what they already know to filter and interpret new information, and I actively and consistently encourage them to construct their own understanding rather than to reproduce mine. Many of the most rewarding experiences I have had while teaching have been when students have constructed new knowledge and understandings that I had never even conceived. Where possible I like to have students work on authentic tasks in real world settings. Having spent considerable time working in the science industry I find it relatively easy to translate the knowledge and skills of science into language and demonstrations that are accessible and meaningful to students, often by using creative metaphors that help students bridge the gap between prior knowledge and new concepts.