April 9, 2019, by aeycjc

Lecture Taster: Does teaching depend on you?

By Digital Communications team member Consuela Phalange as part of the lecture taster campaign. consuela.phalange@notnotts.ac.uk Twitter @consuelaphalange000

I just came back from Fisher and Tallant’s latest lecture which offers a new answer to the age-old question ‘What it Means to Teach’.

1) Why Judgement-dependent?

Andy Fisher, the lecturer, offers the judgement-dependent account because the traditional intention/learning models are problematic. This is because you can have teaching without intention or learning.

Judgement-dependent is just a way of saying that teaching depends on your judgements. Andy claims that:

“X is teaching if and only if the learner, who is in ideal conditions, judges that X is teaching.”.

2) Why do we need ideal conditions?

Ideal conditions include but are not exclusive to:

• Accessible learning environments
• Appropriate levels
• Academic environment
• Inclusivity

These conditions allow judgements to be truth-apt (true/false).

So, our judgements look more like this…

And definitely not like this…

3) What about the future?

You don’t have to go to Hogwarts to be in ideal conditions. In fact, Andy says you might not have to be in a classroom at all. What’s great about judgement-dependent teaching is that it accepts progressive ideas such as artificial intelligence (AI). So, one day, robots could be teaching you!

4) So, does teaching depend on you?

Andy wrapped up by asking the ultimate question:

“Have I been teaching you in this lecture?”

Since I was in ideal conditions, my judgement was truth-apt.

So… if you’re in ideal conditions, Fisher and Tallant think that teaching really does depend on you!

What’s your judgement?

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