Blog Post #8

What Can We Learn About Teaching and Learning From Randy Pausch?

Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who taught computer science, human-computer interaction, and design. From the video, I learned he was a great orator. His speech was engaging, personable, and personal. He began with his childhood dreams. His personal stories, casual language, and photographs made him seem like a "normal" person, without a staunch division of lecturer/student. It made me think that in order to better relate to students, and make them more comfortable speaking their minds and asking questions they may not feel comfortable asking a teacher with which they do not feel connected. He cared about his field and he cared about his students. He "broke the mold" and encouraged his students to do so as well. He focused on "edutainment" and group-based projects. He taught me that in order to get the most out of students, you can not focus on book-learning. You must engage them as fully as possible and partake in active, not passive learning. He had his students give each other feedback to see how well they work with others and how effective they were at their part in the group. This is a great way to make students self-aware and will be useful in their adult careers. Pausch also talked extensively about "head-faking" students, teaching them something hard while they are focused on the fun part of the project. He also stressed another point I have learned during this course, students are just as much teachers to us as we are to them. These are just a few points I learned from Pausch. I am sure if I re-watch the video I could make an entirely new list of more things this video taught me. He inspires me to be the kind of teacher he was, and sparked my curiosity on how I can achieve what he achieved in the field of computer science, in the field of history.