Random thoughts: Ask "when" after "why" and "how"

In any teaching workshop or introduction of "new" pedagogy, (new to me) they always start with the Why, and end with the how.

Personally, I think most people spent too much time on the "Why", in this business, if not for the children, then what. Over-hyping the "why" actually do more harm than good as over-promise lead to cynicism.

Then the "how". I am always wondering about the "how", how to use the ICT tool such as Linot, Google site, for my lesson? How to incorporate Collaboration, experiential learning and even "flipped classroom" concept in my teaching   

How to do this, how to do that. 

The equally important question, I realized, to ask is "when". When is incorporating self-assessment checklist in your Google site for oral practice useful? Most probably during the second to fourth lesson when pupils are still unsure of the structure and framework of what to say during picture description, so such a component serve as a reminder and also a means as self-directed learning. Do u still need to do that during the final few revision sessions? Most probably not. 

Now, another concept I embraced is differentiated instruction. I used to ask how? How? How? 

Now I ask "how?" followed by "when?". I did all sorts of lessons trying to infuse elements of DI, until one day I ask myself if I really value add in anyway. After reflection, I believe that during the initial few sessions, when all that I need pupils to know is the basic framework, and assume

Almost no one has heard of it yet, I do not actually need to crack my head over how to do it? I think any valued addness in D I at the stage will not be as big as during the later stage when everyone grasps the basic concept. When a baseline is established, then it is good to stretch those who already understand. I do that but asking pupils to do editing of samples. They edit it to suit their level of  understanding   and confidence. Simple and efficient, but I am sure those lecturers teaching Differentiated Instruction will frown at my simplicity.

When I am going through my mind about teaching pedagogy, I am also reminded that no matter how sound a method is, 3 universal ingredients cannot be missing. Just like no matter how good a cook you are, some basic seasonings cannot be missing. They are:

1) frequency of lessons/ tasks

2) monitoring of performance

3) energy level of teachers.

The best lesson is nothing without the above 3, the most boring lesson with the above three cannot go too wrong.

I draw a lot of parallels with investment after this mental exercise.