Stories are central to Dr. Sharp’s approach in the classroom. Though she questions the merits of “edutainment” where the teacher is supposed to entertain students, she understands and values how stories are inherently engaging and help students make personal connections to the concepts they are learning, which in turn helps transfer to long-term memory. “People remember stories. Stories help make the connection between a little piece of something students are learning about and the bigger picture which they may not yet fully grasp.”
The active structure of her class sessions reflects her notion that learning is not a spectator sport. Though students might like to sit back and take in a lecture, she may begin class with a quiz over the readings or recalling and restating previous learning. Dilemmas are another active learning approach. Drawing from her rich experiences in the classroom, these dilemmas put students in tough situations so they can see how core concepts relate to real life.
Teaching is both an art and science for Dr. Sharp. As Gail Godwin said, “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths pure theatre.” She believes artful presentation and personal connections are the best way to present content knowledge and best practices in teaching to students.