I've taught the same deep and complex concept many times before to many groups, and today I aimed to teach it again. The first approach I planned did not work. It was too complicated for the learners. In the past we taught this concept in December rather than October so students had a better foundation for learning this information. This year we're teaching it earlier. Plus, it's just a difficult concept, and as I planned it, it didn't match the learners' well.
No matter how often you teach, you'll find that lessons planned and the students in front of you will be a mismatch from time to time. I had the opportunity to teach the same lesson two more times today, and each time I adjusted the lesson to match the learners. The lesson got better and better and the match was closer and closer.
Only those who plan student-centered lessons each day, lessons that respond to a large array of expectations, know the range of extraordinarily powerful and terrific lessons to those lessons that fall flat. That's part of the teaching experience, a part of the experience that those who don't plan and implement lessons daily don't really understand.
