Make the Most of the Learning Moment

It may happen only once in a 50-minute class. It may not take place at all. It may be days before it happens again. Then, suddenly there it is—a learning moment—that one instant in a classroom when teacher and student(s) merge. Until recently, I would have called it a teaching moment. But with the recent shift to learning, the designation seems out of place. It hardly matters since they are the same thing. When the moment arrives, a space opens up, and the class is stilled. An insight is shared; a quiet wonder descends. The student sees or several of them do, if it’s a good day. Minds have been touched. The teacher glows inwardly. She feels her raison d’etre.

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