I tried out for my elementary school basketball team in sixth grade. I was the second tallest boy in school (that btw ended in 7th grade). I have always been able to do pretty well athletically. I am not the fastest, or the strongest, or even the most tenacious; but I pick things up quickly and am pretty competitive. Anyway, I thought that I could do well enough to make the team. I only had one real issue.
I could not make a free throw to save my life.
Later on, in high school, someone pointed out my problem. When I raised the ball and got ready to shoot, I would start with the ball behind my head. Then I would chuck the ball towards the net. The ball would always miss the hoop by a good six feet because I simply had no leverage. To hit the basket, you start with the ball in front of your face (it’s more like pushing the ball towards the basket). This posture gives lots of leverage and the ball gets to hoop.
Anyway, long story short, I didn’t make the team. I missed ten free throws in a row and wasn’t even considered. Here is the funny thing though. I went on to play intramurals. I was our leading scorer and my team won the tournament. We beat teams with varsity and junior varsity players.
So why the long story?
The memory came up as I was talking with a colleague about what makes a great faculty member. Part of the discussion was the need for faculty to have high expectations. This is so critical. The basketball coach in sixth grade had high expectations. He expected that his players be able to shoot free throws. No free throws equaled no start. But I think that great faculty instantly recognized where this coach went wrong. One minute of individualized or group instruction, showing me the proper way to throw a ball, might have made a difference. I would not be in the pro’s, a good six to ten inches of height and a lack of pure talent stopped that, but I might have made the team. A great faculty member recognizes this. A great faculty member connects with students, understand where individual deficiencies lie, gives instruction, gives praise, and ultimately helps give students a leg up to meet the high expectations which have been set. Each course has terminal objectives – those learning outcomes which must be met to demonstrate the appropriate level of mastery. The key is to get students to meet them. The coach in the story above told us what they objectives were, but left it completely up to us to meet them. A great coach, or a great faculty member, learns about their students and does everything possible to tailor their instruction to help the student meet the terminal objectives. A great coach does not wait to be asked for assistance, but rather goes out of their way to be watchful and identify those areas where remediation is needed. (This is one of the reasons I am so proud to work at a university that has small class sizes.) A great coach then connects with the student to identify how best to deliver the coaching – stern, sympathetic, or excited.
I would suggest that the coach in my story did not have high expectations. He actually had no expectations at all. He gave a test (in this case free throws). Succeed or not. He didn’t have any expectations for any of the student’s success. A great coach expects that his students succeed and holds him(her)self partially responsible for the delivery. His expectations are first for him(her)self and then for the students.
Education and Empowerment 