Josef-Schwarz-Schule - The Magic of Excellent Teaching’
When children watch a magician, their eyes light up, their mouths open slightly and they concentrate fully on the magic trick in front of them. ‘As a teacher, you want to be that magician,’ says teacher and education expert Steve Barkley. At the same time, it’s important to allow children to become their own magicians and create their own sense of achievement.
US-born Steve Barkley knows what he’s talking about. Over the past 35 years, he has acted as an advisor for school districts, teacher organisations and state education departments, as well as universities and colleges around the world. In his presentation ‘The magic of excellent teaching’ at the Wissensnetzwerk Schule teacher event, he included valuable advice for teachers about their lessons.
‘The magician metaphor really stuck with me, and the idea that we should explain processes to students in an even more positive way and break them down into smaller steps,’ says Anne Röhner, sport and German teacher at the Phorms Campus Hamburg.
Neuroscience expert Dr Katrin Hille then gave a presentation on how the learning process actually works and what happens on a neurological level. ‘The brain becomes particularly active when there is an emotional connection with what is being learned. The content needs to be meaningful,’ explains Katrin Hille. The researcher specialised in human beings with a degree and a doctorate in psychology. She has worked as a research head at the ZNL TransferCenter for Neuroscience and Learning at the University of Ulm for many years, driving new discoveries in the field of educational research.
The teachers shared their education experiences over coffee, cake and snacks at the Josef-Schwarz-Schule in Neckarsulm.
