A Teachable Moment: It Made All the Difference!  

J.L. (Len) Gusthart
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon , Saskatchewan, Canada

The door to the University of Saskatchewan gymnasium opened. There stood three large, muscular young men along with their strength and conditioning coach. The coach asked permission for the group to cross the floor and enter a workout room on the far side of the gym. All eyes turned to look at these impressive athletes ambling across the gym floor. My students were obviously thinking, “Who are these guys?” As they laid eyes on the ‘jocks’, several young women predictably lost focus on the game they were playing. Minor confusion ensued! Two students bumped into each other while a third was struck in the head by an errant ball!

What happened next was the moment that every teacher only dreams about! As the men crossed the gym and became aware of the activity that was going on, I overheard one of them say, “I can’t believe they’re paying good money for this!”

“What a total waste of time!” replied another.

“Is this what they call an education?” added the third.

Immediately I knew that I had witnessed a teachable moment. I just didn’t know how perfect it was really going to be! I quickly joined the interlopers in the workout room and queried the coach about the identity of these “insightful” young men. I was informed that the NHL lockout had brought these prominent, highly skilled, millionaire hockey players back to the University of Saskatchewan High Performance Centre at this opportune time. I introduced myself and asked permission to repeat their comments to the class. They laughed and said they were more than happy to oblige. I knew that their words would have much more impact than mine, a mere 3M Fellow!

These NHL players had accidentally happened upon the second meeting of my ‘Practical Applications’ class for pre-service teachers. I had taken my students into the gym to participate in three activities that are on my infamous “wall of shame” – Duck, Duck, Goose; Dodgeball; and competitive relay races. These activities were used as an instructional technique to focus students’ attention on the fact that they either contribute little to skill development, eliminate students, result in only a few winners, or are inherently dangerous. At this moment my students had been caught in the middle of a rowdy game of Dodgeball!

I must admit that in the past I have had limited success in convincing my students that the aforementioned games are inappropriate developmental activities for children in a school setting. This day my intention was to have the students experience these games first-hand and then return to the classroom for a discussion on their lack of educational merit. With the knowledge that students can internalize and make meaningful connections when the discussion is based on relevant experiences, I was hopeful that my lesson would be more successful this time.

When we did return to the classroom, there was the usual enthusiasm, of some, for what they had just experienced in the gym. One student quickly offered his opinion, “I’m really good at Dodgeball” and “I’ve always liked it!” Some shook their heads in disagreement. The teachable moment had arrived! Here was the opportunity to share the spontaneous and insightful viewpoints of those larger-than-life hockey players. The students’ reactions soon progressed from “Who are those guys?” to “I guess what they said makes sense”. Now they were able to view the game from a new perspective. The athletes’ casual comments gave credibility to my planned learning experience. It made all the difference.

The excitement in teaching lies in the uncertainty of events. A planned learning experience became more meaningful purely by accident. The classroom discussion that followed carried the day; and most students were able to come to the conclusion that the activities on my “wall of shame” were indeed inappropriate for an educational setting. I have no doubt that the entire experience will leave a lasting impression with my students. I know that it will with me! J.M. Haile (2005) captured the essence of the experience.

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