A Study of North Carolina Teachers and the Concept of Teachable Moments:
A New Theoretical Perspective

George Maycock, Ed.D.
maycockga@appstate.edu
Appalachian State University
Stephen R. White, D.A.
whitesr@boone.net

From the conventional perspective, teachable moments are defined as being the act of a teacher arranging the subject content and designing the learning context in ways to enhance the learning process.  Our perspective is that a teachable moment is also a highly subjective-reflective event or learning occurrence that happens during a learning experience.  Such moments are not planned or contrived. Instead they are an intuitive appreciation by a teacher of the unanticipated moment and their learners' consciousness.  In our attempt to understand this teaching and learning phenomenon, we accept Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity which states that meaningful coincidences unrelated to cause and effect planning do indeed happen.  When synchronicity occurs, the teacher is often presented with a teachable moment of intense, insightful, and meaningful learning experience that just happened.  The focus of this research is supported by a survey study of 70 teachers.  The survey found that almost all (97%) of the teachers felt they had experienced teachable moments. A majority of the teachers felt that teachable moments were unplanned, "just happened", and could not be designed or constructed in advance.

A. Objective of the study:  To determine teachers' perceptions about teachable moments, including how they define teachable moments, how often they occur and the impact on their teaching.

B. Theoretical framework: Teachable moments are often defined as being the act of a teacher arranging the subject content in ways to enhance the learning process.  Our proposition is that a teachable moment is also a highly subjective-reflective event.  Such moments are not planned, developed or contrived by the teacher.  Instead it is an intuitive serendipitous occurrence that has the potential to provide intense teaching opportunities and knowledge construction.  In our attempt to understand this teaching and learning phenomenon, we accept Swiss psychologist Carl Jung's theory of synchronicity which states that meaningful coincidences unrelated to cause and effect planning do indeed happen.

C. Methodology: A survey research study was completed on 70 teachers.

D. Data source: A Likert survey was developed to provide information on teachers' perceptions and experiences of teachable moments.

E. Results: The survey found that almost all (97%) of the teachers felt they had experienced teachable moments.  Many teachers felt they occurred frequently (76%).  A majority of the teachers surveyed (64%) felt that teachable moments were unplanned, "just happened", and could not be designed or constructed in advance.  It was also found that only about half of the teachers were familiar with the concept of synchronicity.  Graphs will be provided to display these and other related findings of the Teachable Moments Survey.

F. Conclusions: When synchronicity occurs, the teacher is often presented with a teachable moment of intense, insightful, and meaningful learning experience that was not planned but just happened, provided the teacher is intuitive enough to recognize the phenomenon and conscious of its educational significance.  We think that all teachers can relate to such moments of synchronicity and that it can empower their teaching and illuminate the subject being learned.