Why Teaching Begins Before the Teaching Starts

By Doctor Joseph Tyler

There’s a moment at the beginning of every session that often gets overlooked.

It’s the moment before the content. Before the slides.Before the “lesson” officially begins.

And in many ways, it’s the most important part.

A Simple Question That Changes Everything

Over the years, whether teaching in primary classrooms, secondary schools, further education, or now in higher education, I’ve found myself returning to the same starting point.

Before anything else, I pause and ask:

“How has your week been?”

It’s a simple question. But it’s rarely a simple answer.

Sometimes it opens up conversations about workload, stress, or personal challenges. Sometimes it brings out moments of success and pride, and sometimes it tells you everything you need to know about how the session is going to unfold.

Because students don’t arrive as empty vessels, ready to receive knowledge.

They arrive as people.

Students Don’t Leave Their Lives at the Door

One of the enduring myths in education is that learning begins when the lesson starts.

But learning is shaped long before that moment.

Students carry with them:

• Emotional states

• Prior experiences

• Cognitive load from earlier in the day

• External pressures beyond the classroom

Research consistently highlights the importance of relationships in learning. Work by John Hattie identifies teacher–student relationships as having a significant impact on outcomes.

Similarly, Lev Vygotsky reminds us that learning is inherently social — shaped through interaction, dialogue, and shared experience.

What this tells us is simple:

Learning is not just cognitive. It is relational.

Why This Matters Even More in Adult Education

In higher education and further education contexts, there can be an assumption that adult learners are fully self-regulated.

That they arrive:

• Motivated

• Focused

• Ready to engage

But the reality is often very different.

Many adult learners are balancing:

• Employment

• Family responsibilities

• Financial pressures

• Academic study for the first time in years

They are not just learning; they are managing life alongside learning.

Which means that connection is not a “nice to have”.It is foundational.

From Connection to Meaningful Learning

So what do we do with that opening conversation?

This is where the teaching begins to deepen.

It’s not just about asking the question; it’s about using what emerges.

For example:

• A student mentions struggling with workload → you connect this to time management strategies within the session

• A discussion about workplace challenges → you link theory directly to their professional context

• A shared experience → you build it into a discussion or case study

In doing so, the session becomes more than content delivery.

It becomes relevant.

Bringing It Back Into the Session

One of the most powerful and often underused teaching strategies is returning to those initial moments later in the session.

Not just as a check-in… but as a bridge.

For example:

“Earlier, you mentioned challenges managing workload, how might this approach help with that?”

Or:

“Thinking back to what you said at the start of the session, how does this idea connect to your experience?”

This does two things:

1. It reinforces learning through personal relevance

2. It validates the learner’s experience as part of the learning process

And when learning becomes personal, it becomes meaningful.

The Difference Between Covering Content and Creating Value

There’s a subtle but important shift here.

Teaching is often framed as delivering content efficiently.

But effective teaching asks a different question:

Why should this matter to the learner, today?

Not in five years’ time.Not in theory.But now.

When we build from students’ lived experiences, we begin to answer that question.

And when that happens:

• Engagement deepens

• Retention improves

• Learning transfers beyond the classroom

  
  

Practical Ways to Apply This in Your Teaching

This approach doesn’t require a complete redesign of your session. It requires small, intentional shifts.

1. Start with a genuine check-in. Ask an open question — and give space for real answers.

2. Listen for themesWorkload, stress, success, uncertainty — these are all entry points into learning.

3. Adapt in the moment. Be willing to adjust examples or emphasis based on what you hear.

4. Revisit later in the session. Make explicit links between students’ experiences and the content.

5. Close the loopAsk students to reflect: How does this apply to your context?

Teaching as Both Art and Science

Research gives us principles. Experience gives us insight. But it is the combination of the two that defines effective teaching.

As Ken Robinson often emphasised, education is not a linear process; it is human, dynamic, and deeply contextual.

And perhaps that is the point.

Teaching is not just about what we teach. It is about how we connect it to the lives of those we teach.

A Final Reflection

The next time you begin a session, pause.

Ask a simple question. Listen carefully to the answer.

And then, most importantly, use it.

Because sometimes, the most meaningful learning doesn’t start with the content.

It starts with the conversation.