The Teacher As Student
by Kathy Martucci, PMP:
I was very lucky to teach project management and communication classes in both Sacramento and Austin for the Government Technology Conferences held there this June. I worked for New York State in several different agencies from transportation to fiscal oversight before I retired from full-time employment, so my students and I had much in common. While that may have been more relevant in the project management classes, it also provided some common ground in the communications classes.
My two weeks of teaching were a great experience, loads of fun, and I learned a lot. Yep, you heard me, I learned a lot from all my students. What did I learn, you ask?
Lesson #1: Teaching any subject is very humbling.
It reminds us that we may have our understanding and our opinions, but our students will no doubt give us feedback that is opposite, thought-provoking and surprising. The deep, rich discussions based on different perspectives are very enlightening, at times fascinating! As teachers, we may fool ourselves into thinking we have the answer, maybe all the answers. But teaching, especially teaching bright, energetic and engaging adults with a cumulative 100-400 years of experience (the “Project Triage” class in California hosted 51 students – each with many years of dedicated service!), removes all possibility of continuing to believe in this fallacy.
Lesson #2: Believe it or not, there can be plenty of discussion focused on the correct use of punctuation!
Oh, yes, people. The rules governing the proper use of punctuation inspired great debates and a great tip from Dora in Austin to check in at Grammar Girl:quickanddirtytips.com for all sorts of information on this and other subjects. Check it out – it’s a site to behold, so to speak!
Lesson #3: The students learn as much (maybe more) from each other than they do from the teacher.
Because all the students effectively work for the same employer (the state of California or the state of Texas), employees from oversight agencies shared “tips and tricks” for their colleagues from other agencies who are responsible for reporting project progress. This was especially true in Texas where project oversight processes appear to be fairly mature. Learning to balance the time for inter-student communication versus delivering material was especially challenging!
Lesson #4: Last, but certainly not least, the day goes by a LOT faster when you are the teacher.
Think about it. You sit through class all morning, have a big lunch and now the time on your cell phone shows 2:00PM. Oh, yeah, I can see your lids closing right now. However, as the facilitator/instructor I have tons of additional information I want to impart. I’m desperately trying everything in my power to keep the class engaged to ward off the drowsiness that threatens to take over the student body. At times, you have to be more emcee/game show host than teacher!
Thus…the teacher becomes the student. I have never stood on my feet all day every day for two weeks, and I have never talked so much in one time period! However, I would do it all again in a New York minute. Thank you, California and Texas, for all the lessons learned! See you next year?
