"Alter your thinking to that of the students in your course and what they need in order to learn" as opposed to what you need to do in order to teach. This is an interesting shifts in paradigms, and it's one that the Education Department has been discussing for a few months now. As a Teacher Preparation Program, we obviously have to put some emphasis on what a teacher does and how a teacher thinks. At the same time, we have to help our students view the ultimate assessment as what the students are learning and what it's going to take to get them to learn. So the idea of taking the student perspective is crucial. I think that's why it's helpful to take an online or blended course before trying to teach one even if the greatest learning is what NOT to do.
I appreciated Smith's attention to anticipating what students need in order to learn. We also need to consider the content we need to teach, but that content won't have a great deal of effect if we organize and teach the course poorly. I am looking forward to hearing what many of our peers have learned from their experiences. That will help me a LOT!
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