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Comment by kyro | Hacker News Reader

I've always preferred being taught with a white/chalkboard. Being able to follow the professor's every thought, trying to keep 1 step ahead of them by guessing a solution before it's written out, seeing them make and correct mistakes in realtime, just being witness to that semi-stream of consciousness, has proven to be the most effective way for me to learn. Flipping slide-to-slide and having bucket after bucket of information splashed out on the screen, perfectly planned and coordinated, makes you a spectator more than a participant. And preparing slides ahead of time also results in a professor's tendency to put way more information into a lesson than necessary. This may apply more to science courses than liberal arts, though.

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seeing them make and correct mistakes in realtime

I'm a teacher. This is one of the interesting decisions that goes into preparing lessons well. You want to plan well enough that you know what you are going to present, but not so well that it's all rote. Leaving room for yourself to make mistakes in front of students is really good.

I tell my students as often as I can, "Professional mathematicians, scientists, and programmers make mistakes all day, every day. They have just trained themselves to expect mistakes, and know how to deal with them when they arise."

I also tell students that if they are not making mistakes most days, they are not doing interesting or challenging enough work.

Some of the best profs I've had made mistakes deliberately. Making mistakes allowed them to point out common pitfalls and engage students by challenging them to find their mistakes.

I think this is a good illustration of the art of teaching. Getting people to really engage is difficult.

Except it is absolutely infuriating for anyone trying to keep up with the lecture I personally find whole "taking notes" riddiculous - I can't listen to the lecture because I'm constantly fighting to scribble down all the stuff that is being put down on the chalkboard And then the lecturer makes a mistake and starts messing with stuff I already wrote down - final result is one horrible tangle of unreadable mess

This seems very true to me, and also one of the major reasons for the success of khan academy. (another major one being that sal is an amazing teacher)

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