Educators are often faced with the daunting task of teaching subjects or topics that they do not have expertise in based on decisions made by district and school leaders. Educators, however, must be continuous learners and should develop the ability to identify their knowledge gaps and how to overcome them so that they can better support their learners.
This module helps educators to recognise that there is a benefit to teaching content that is unfamiliar to them. First, it puts teachers in the position of the learner so that they can better empathise with what struggles learners are likely to face. Second, teaching unfamiliar content empowers teachers to focus more keenly on key learning outcomes and to prioritise instructional design towards mastering essential outcomes. Third, when educators teach unfamiliar content, they must self-assess from reviewing existing curricula to understand where they need to focus on learning before learners are in front of them.
