teachable moment

Definition

An unplanned opportunity that arises naturally for learning, which educators seize to deliver impromptu instruction. In theory, it's spontaneous brilliance; in practice, it's often a professor's way of saying they're going off-syllabus again.

Example Usage

When a student's phone exploded during the chemistry lecture, Professor Liu called it a teachable moment about lithium-ion battery safety.

Origin

Popularized by educator Robert Havighurst in the 1950s, though the concept is much older

Fun Fact

The phrase has been so overused by educators and politicians that it's become a cliché, often deployed to make random digressions sound pedagogically intentional.

Source: Educational psychology and teaching practice

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