Improvisational Teaching

I'm a big believer in it. Today, for example, I am introducing my students to the concept of the "claim" and the basic structure of argument. I am going to use the Toulmin model, as I always do, but this time I am not going to teach it as a formula for constructing argument. Rather, I am going to talk about it as a tool for analyzing arguments.

The damned thing is, however, that I never know exactly what is going to come out of my mouth when I get up in front of the class. I'm ok with this. I consider myself a fighter-jockey type of teacher, pulling high Gs and generally assaulting my students' intellect from all possible angles at once. I'm a sort of an intellectual Sidewinder. Unfortunately, because I am incapable of predicting, much less controlling, what will come out of my mouth, I think that any digital revolution in teaching that incorporated streaming video capture would be the end of me.

The key, of course, is acting as if where I end up is where I intended to end up. For this one, because there are foundational technical terms that I want them to be familiar with, I am going to have a cheat sheet with me, just to make sure I put my foot on all of the bases.

Alright, there is lightning now. I can't wait to cross campus for my second class. Oh wait, yes I can.

HJ