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Greg:

It's good for an instructor to remember what it was like "the first
time" for him or her.  But it's also important to assess the skills and
knowledge of his/her students and not just assume everyone is like oneself.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I'm an engineer by education.   I
have lived in areas dominated by a high-tech environment (formerly
Boston, now Silicon Valley).  I frequently teach coastal navigation
classes.   It's interesting to teach navigation in currents.  The
engineers take one look and say "basic vector mathematics, let's move
on," while the non-techie's eyes glaze over.   It's a challenge to keep
the engineers engaged while making sure the non-techies get it.

There's no "universal" student.  I've been teaching basic coastal
navigation for over 20 years and I've never had students have too much
of a problem understanding how to measure a course using the standard
rectangular course plotter (the kind where you set the edge along the
desired course and move a bullseye against a meridian or parallel and
measure the course direction).  Never had a problem until the last time,
when I had a couple of students that just didn't get this basic skill.
Took a lot of extra tutoring to help them understand.  Why were they
different?  Not sure (one even worked in high-tech as a technician).
But part of being a good instructor is to sense when students are
struggling (and likewise encourage them to tell you when they're having
difficulty).

In fact, I like the challenge of explaining things.  As I mentioned in
my earlier post, I think celestial seems daunting just because of its
arcane terminology (like visiting your doctor and being told you have a
"subcutaneous hemorrhage" instead of a black-and-blue mark).  My
challenge for the moment (which I think I've mastered) is explaining the
Coriolis force to a non-techie.

Lu Abel

Greg R. wrote:
> --- Peter Fogg  wrote:
>
>
>>You make it sound like a destination you've arrived at, Greg, rather
>>than an on-going expedition?
>
>
> Actually, that wasn't my intent... though I suppose one could argue
> that arriving at a point where one was reasonably comfortable with the
> basic CelNav skills could be considered a "destination".
>
> Main reason for asking the question of the group is that I might be in
> a position to teach a class on the subject down the road, and just
> wanted to find out if my own experience was anywhere near "typical".
>
> --
> GregR
>
>
>
>
>
>>On 9/18/07, Greg R.  wrote:
>>
>>> I'm curious to know what your own individual experiences were
>>
>>while
>>
>>>learning how to do CelNav - was it fairly easy to master,
>>
>>challenging (but
>>
>>>eventually it made sense and you caught on), difficult the entire
>>
>>way, or
>>
>>>what exactly?
>>>
>>>For myself, working my way through all the theory and practice the
>>
>>first
>>
>>>time I felt like my head was going to explode several times - but
>>
>>eventually
>>
>>>the little "Aha!" light bulb came on and it all magically fell into
>>
>>place.
>>
>>>Was that experience pretty much typical of the rest of the people
>>
>>on the
>>
>>>list?
>>>
>>>--
>>>Thanks,
>>>GregR
>>>
>>>
>
>
>
> >
>


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