This book, “Create Aha! Moments,” shines the spotlight on a vital link in the learning process that has not been highlighted with sufficient clarity and emphasis before. “Create Aha! Moments” discusses how to convert “teachable moments” into “Aha! Now, I understand” moments, using clear language and metaphors that make the process easy to conceptualize and apply.
The soccer analogy of teachable moments as scoring opportunities, and “Aha! Moments” as scored goals is graphic and appropriate. The bottom line is that when teachable moments are not converted into “Aha! Moments” valuable opportunities (to facilitate learning) are lost. In education, the game is always ‘on’, and goals need to be scored so that the lessons are retrievable from long term storage when students need them.
To be able to consistently create “Aha! Moments,” teachers need to be aware of when teachable moments are likely to arise, expectantly await them, and be able to recognize them as soon as they present themselves. Then, with the conditions set for learning, teachers can employ high-quality feedback to ensure that learning happens, i.e., to ensure the learning “light bulbs” are illuminated!
