Lesson 1 – What do fighter jet pilots have to do with teaching?

In the late 1940s, the US Air Force faced a problem: airmen were frequently losing control of their jets. After examining all possible causes, researchers hypothesized that the cockpits needed to be upgraded to fit the average-sized man to facilitate safer maneuvers. However, after analyzing the measurements of over 4,000 airmen to establish new vessel standards, they determined that none of the pilots would actually fit in a cockpit designed for an “average” man. That’s right – there was no average-sized pilot! The researcher concluded that “any system designed around the average person is doomed to fail” (Rose, 2016, p.8).

So what could they do? The proposed solution was to create an environment to fit individuals rather than designing an environment to fit a hypothetical “average” person. The seats, foot pedals, helmets, and flight suits were redesigned to be adjustable to the individual needs of each pilot (Rose, 2016). Those same features are now present in cars, bike helmets, and even everyday clothing.

In his book, The End of Average, Todd Rose describes how measuring ourselves against the “average person” is based on a misguided – and dangerous – assumption.  Averages are misleading because they ignore individual differences and variability. Moving away from one-size-fits-all thinking and designing education to meet the unique needs and strengths of each individual will support each student’s growth.

Play the video, The End of Average!? by Shelley Moore [6:30], to learn how this opposition to designing for the “average” person disrupts traditional teaching practices.

Self-Assessment

Shelley Moore’s video introduced an important concept related to teaching and learning.  Review the question and select one answer. Then, select the Check button to review the answer.

Or you can download a Word document of Module 1.1 Self-Assessment