After reading the Knewton info-graphic, I found the information very similar to the commercials for the K-12 online home-school;California Connections. It is was similar in that students do the majority of the reading, exploring, accessing information on their own, then meet with the teacher to discuss big ideas, or ask for clarification. But, personally, I have two big problems with online only learning- technology, specifically social media exists, and maintaining motivation. As Dan Pink pointed out, the old ideas of if/then scenarios no longer (if they ever did) work in the classroom, so how do you motivate students? So how do you capture students attention, both in the actual classroom and inside their homes? As the video from Australia pointed out, you need to make the PBL/CBL/PrBL/STEM relevant and important to the students. It worked well for the Australian students, because it was a project that was close to them, as in, they felt it was an important topic that had endless solutions that they could tackle.
In my own teaching, I agree that students should feel connected to their learning, as well as a sense of belonging to a bigger picture. It is what guides the PrBL's I create with my colleagues. I do also agree that students can and should bear some of the responsibility of learning and researching further on their own. However, we are in a current state of education where parents are complaining about the amount of homework that students have already. So how much is too much? When is the appropriate time or age to say that students are ready to learn on their own at home? How do we, as educators make that shift? How do we as a society, make education a priority, as the shift has been a constant blame game for the past 50 plus years? In the coming semesters, I am hoping to answer some of my own questions regarding how to make learning a priority for all students. How can I make the learning environment more accessible and relevant for all the students I am entrusted with daily? I know that when I began this journey, I did not feel comfortable with many aspects of technology, and the road has been bumpy. I hope to continue working on gaining more insight into technological tools that are useful in the classroom. I also appreciate learning from my peers and hearing about the tools that they find useful in their teaching.
4 Comments
Dan Pink: The Puzzle
Ken Robinson: Do Schools Kill Creativity?
Howard Gardner : Five Minds for the Future
John Seely Brown: A New Culture of Learning
My key insights from each video, is that as an educator, I need to honor the natural talents that each student possesses. All students are capable of learning, they might have different avenues in which they obtain their knowledge, however, and that should not be diminished. Creativity, is something that can be learned, and does not need to be intrinsic. We cannot simply learn to be creative, we must practice being creative through trial and error. We must become comfortable with being uncomfortable in our learning if we wish to make headway into solving problems with creative solutions. In terms or my own teaching, I often tell my students to be brave, demonstrate the math problem on the board even if they are wrong or confused, because the only way we can learn is by doing and receiving constructive feedback. I found this article to be very thoughtful and am thinking of ways that I can share it with my students. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2017
Categories |