“Learning is a lifelong process,” but what is it? That first, simple, frequently stated truism is worth analyzing. If learning is process, then how can we as professors ever expect product? What is the product of a good heart? That it keeps beating. Learning is the heart of one’s knowledge and education, so I can only hope that it keeps on going as long as one’s beating heart does. To be healthy, a heart needs exercise and nutrition for energy. To be robust, learning needs activities (tests, homeworks, essays) and a teacher’s knowledge and enthusiasm coupled with the students’ familial support for energy and motivation. Learning is also ultimately an individual achievement. I have heard learning described as an outcome of teaching, where teaching is a medium between the material (be it knowledge or skill) and learning, as in the following model:

 

 

 

 

In this model, teaching is an activity that mediates between the material and the act of learning. The act of learning presumably cannot take place without the act of teaching. In my conception of the relationship, the learner does not learn the material through my teaching. Rather, the learner learns directly from the material (e.g., through reading) and also learns critical thinking skills through my teaching of the material. The material is thus a catalyst for learning by the learner and teaching by me. I use the material to teach critical thinking skills, which help the learner engage in the act of learning the material. Furthermore, the learner learns directly from the material through his or her own agency. I don’t presume the following model is conclusive, but it illustrates my point.

Fail Better

 

Next, I’d like to articulate what I think learning is and how I will measure my success as a teacher. I believe Samuel Beckett put it best: “Try; fail. Try again. Fail better.” He was not commenting on learning specifically, but his observation is germane. It might seem odd that I write of failing in my teaching philosophy, but the emphasis in Beckett’s quotation is not on failing. He could have left off, “Tray again. Fail better.” It is this latter part that gives hope and suggests the necessity of improvement. Improvement is a product of learning.

 

Indeed, Beckett’s quotation may also seem pessimistic: it is not. It assumes that perfection cannot be had, thus all efforts, no matter how valiant or flawless, are imperfect. Again, learning is improvement. Consider this scenario with two students: one writes a “C” first paper; the other, an “A” first paper. At the end of the semester, the former writes a “B” final paper, showing some improvement, and the latter writes an “A” final paper, but without any significant improvement in thinking or writing skills since the first paper. I would consider my teaching of the “C-B” student successful. Few would argue. However, I believe I will have failed the “A” student unless I successfully helped that student improve. “Try again. Fail better.”

 

I myself hope to continue to fail better. I enjoy learning, and learning new material is important for me not only so I can remain up-to-date on my subject matter, but also so I never lose sight of the active process in which my students are engaged. This helps me understand students better and also lead by example. As a student myself, I’ve always appreciated knowing that my professors are also hard at work on their own papers or projects.

 

The best teachers I’ve had the honor of learning from have a wonderful ability to challenge the motivated, motivate the apathetic, and fairly evaluate them both. I hope to take the lessons I learned from them and the lessons I’ll continue to learn from my own experience and from my more senior colleagues.