It is likely that you were a student for many years. Depending on the education framework you have been exposed to and your age, you might have been a student for perhaps 12 years primary and secondary, 4 for the undergrad, 2 for the Masters and 4 for the Doctorate. It can be more or less but this is still a large amount of time spent as a student. What does this mean?

It is human nature to mimic and repeat what you have been exposed to. It has often been observed that people teach the way they were taught. It goes without saying that this is the most efficient way for someone to proceed. What you experienced obviously worked for you, and you became an instructor at the higher education level. This is an accomplishment! You obviously had to have success with certain methods, processes, and styles of assessment. You had to be in the top ranks of the student body. However, this can create biases that you may or may not be aware of. For example, you might teach how you were taught because you enjoyed that specific approach and it worked for you! But, are you representative of the average student? Really?

Thoughts...

• It is a common misconception that you know how to teach and teach well just because you were a student for so long. While you might have familiarity with something, it does not mean you are an expert in it or understand it. Familiarity and expertise are not the same thing!
• It is also human nature to project oneself on to others and onto situations. It is common to think that others learn and think like you. If you have a doctorate, it is unlikely that most students think or learn like you. You should always keep this in mind. They are not you.
• If you actually liked or enjoyed something as an undergraduate, reflect upon it. Similarly, if you did not like something, it should be reflected upon. Does it really apply to others? It might. It might not. Do not assume that it does; just because you got value, or got no value does not mean that others did or did not. If you are reflecting, spend more than a few seconds thinking about it.

• Over time, learning objectives have evolved and it is important to reflect upon the objectives when you are student and what the objectives are now. They are different.
• While almost all of the modern best practices have been advocated for many decades, few instructors have ever adopted them and your exposure to best practices might have been limited.
• The awareness about student mental health has changed; this has implications about what you expect students to do, and this is different from when you are a student.
• While the human brain has not changed in 50,000 years with respect to neural characteristics, the teen cultures and situations before the students get to postsecondary are different from when you were a student and these need to be taken into account by the methods and processes you use. The brain changes after birth and we have to deal with the 'new' patterns and behaviors which have developed as a result of different experiences and expectations.
• It takes an open mind and a level of self-confidence and awareness to leave behind the comfort and security of known methods and teach with new methods. These risks should only be attempted when you have gained a bit of experience, and you should make sure you are appropriately assessing the risk.
• It is possibly best to deal with this transition, assessing your assumptions and beliefs, when you start teaching; once you start teaching in a certain way, it will be hard to change later.
• You need to think about the teaching methods, the assessment methods, and how you interact with the students. You should not blindly and without forethought use any method; certainly not thinking that the methods you were taught with, or assessed with, are by default acceptable and appropriate. They might be ok, but they might not be.
• Things come with baggage and are attached to your past. You have ideas about what a lab is, a tutorial, lecture, project, assignment, quiz, midterm, and final (to name a few). They have implications to you and implications to the students. If you call something ‘x’ you will set expectations and a certain behaviour. Labelling becomes important. You have a past, so do the students. Think about the names you use for things. It matters.

Tips for Beginners

• Avoid the trap of assuming what worked best for you is best for your students. Check in with them regularly and provide opportunities for anonymous feedback. An anonymous online start, stop and continue survey or a feedback box left at the front of the room while you answer questions after class are two ways to get this feedback.
• If possible, attend a workshop on teaching where you give a substantive lecture and receive feedback from your peers before you teach your first class. Alternatively, ask a colleague or two to sit in on a lecture and provide an outside perspective.

Further reading

• Anderson, J. M. (2012). The skinny on teaching: What you don’t learn in graduate school. Information Age Publishing.
• McCaffery, E. S. (2012). Can they teach? A look at how professors learn to educate. [Unpublished master's thesis]. Le Moyne College, Syracuse, New York. Retrieved from http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_IACE-browseall/373/