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Shoveltusker's avatar

One of the metrics for hiring in my university department is number of years teaching experience. This is forced upon us by HR: more years, more "points". So this metric becomes a component of an overall score for each individual applicant.

And yet, I look around at my colleagues, and I see that teaching effectiveness seems to have nothing at all to do with years of experience. Certainly, people can improve in their effectiveness over time (I know I have), but what separates good teachers from ineffective teachers is desire to be effective and love of the work: attention to teaching, prioritizing teaching among one's other responsibilities.

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KM's avatar

Thanks Prof Brownstein.

I'm intrigued by the closing remarks "In Ericsson’s words, “The solution is not ‘try harder’ but rather ‘try differently.’”" I'd love to hear more about this!

I've heard similar sentiments expressed, although in very different contexts, by clinical psychologist Kael Croft and physical therapist Anat Baniel.

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