Episode 363: Dr Susan Friedman Pt 4: Lifelong Learners Start Teaching!
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
This is Part 4 of our conversation with Dr Susan Friedman. Dr Friedman is one of our favorite guests on this podcast. She’s a professor emeritus in the psychology department at Utah State University. She’s been a long-time member of the Clicker Expo Faculty and she runs the very popular on-line course Behavior Works: Learning and Living with Animals.
In Part 1 Susan shared with us her most recent project - the Behavior Works Zoo School which you can read about at BWZS.org. We talked about why teams matter.
In Part 2 the conversation centered around how to develop great working teams. We talked about what it means to be a leader. How do you maintain control and support a creative, generative team? Susan discussed ways to maintain healthy teams.
In Part 3 we talked about influence. Susan reminded us that we have evolved to be influenced by our environment. To build an effective team you need to get the explanation for a person’s behavior out of the inside of the person and into the environment where it belongs.
To use Susan’s example: instead of talking about what a jerk someone is, we should be looking at how the environment selected for that jerky behavior and how the team can change the environment to change that jerky behavior.
To build a good team you commit to the science of behavior.
Part 4 takes us to an in-depth look at what it means to be a teacher. Teaching is not an opportunity to show someone what you know. It’s an opportunity to influence
Susan stressed the great need for mentors. To stay on only the life long learning path and not become a mentor is a huge loss
We discussed imposter syndrome, defining it and then setting it aside as a concern. As Susan said, you only need to be one or two chapters ahead of your students.
I added my favorite definition of a teacher - a teacher is someone who started before you.
You don’t have to be THE expert and have all the answers because nobody has all the answers.
How do you know when you’re ready? You ask your mentors.
And remember, one of the best ways to learn is to teach. When you can clearly explain something to someone else, you know you understand that piece. You own it. When you explain it to a second person, you may well discover that your first set of instructions aren’t enough. Each learner is unique. You’re learning flexibility, creativity. You’re discovering new details that make the instructions better and expand your own understanding of the work. Teaching is such a great way to learn.
Susan provides a strong nudge to the lifelong learners to get out there and teach.
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