The challenges of teaching microbiology

Abstract

By its nature, education looks to the future – in that the benefits are in the future with an educated populace. However, education functions in the present and faces problems that must be resolved now, in order to achieve the future benefit. The true measure of education, then, is the success of student learning, which is served by good teaching. Altering our perspective as teachers to seeing the goal as student learning outcomes rather than being ‘good teachers’ opens up many different challenges. Understanding too that if we have taught well, then student learning will continue lifelong. As the American philosopher, Eric Hoffer, said “The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people”.