A few thoughts on the future of education locally and worldwide.
Or, how do I hope my three-year old daughter will be “learning” when she starts attending school?
In my district I am part of a group of people who are also wrestling with some of the same concerns that have plagued education ever since the computer made its way into classrooms. What, I am sure some teachers wondered, am I supposed to do with that? Especially if I don’t have enough for all of the students, or I don’t get how they work either? Now in the 21st century on the cusp of WEB2.0 the questions have become more like those posed in the blog for this assignment. The questions are no longer about having enough computers but instead what are we going to do to keep up with the explosion of the web, social learning, and online learning. I, for one, love online learning. I enjoy going to classes and meeting new people as well but I tend to gravitate towards online learning because it fits my time schedule and needs. But, I have had to struggle with a different kind of learning curve due to the new learning style. I was not always a self-directed student, so asking me to change my stripes or spots to adjust to the new learning method was not an easy process. I fear the same would be true for the students of today unless they are exposed to the benefits and pitfalls of no one nagging them to get their work done except themselves. There is talk right now in my district about the seniors of 2010 being required to take an online class to graduate from high school. I would suggest that we should be starting this learning process in a different year such as the sophomore year. I believe that showing students the potential future is important but asking them to figure it out and pass a class the first time they are exposed to the new learning style may be too much to ask for this next year.
One of the other discussions that is in the front of my mind lately mirrors a question asked by the author of our book/blog. “Reporter: What have you stopped doing that you used to spend time on before you began blogging, tweeting, etc.?” I have two blogs now and this one already has three posts on it as of this post. I have time to do this now because it is the summer and I have more free time. I plan on continuing my blogs as well as inviting students to post comments etc., but I have to wonder if I am going to ever have the time to create as many different socially interactive portals as the author has produced. I will probably never tweet (although I am jokingly trying to get my wife going on it), nor am I likely to get a Face-book page or a My Space page. I am part of the generation of people who love the inter-connectedness of the Internet but I have also seen what can happen if the Internet is not used in a positive manner. So I tend to shy away from the concept of transparency. Even in the face of evidence that it could all be for the greater good I tend to be wary. I also have to wonder if my workload will already be increasing from the effort of maintaining one or more blogs that is open to my students to comment upon. But, as the author points out maybe I would finally be spending my time where it should be spent instead of on those other things that fill up my school day.
“In this article we argue that, after millennia of considering education (learning and teaching) chiefly in one way, we may well have reached a set of tipping points: Going forward, learning may be far more individualized, far more in the hands (and the minds) of the learner, and far more interactive than ever before. This constitutes a paradox: As the digital era progresses, learning may be at once more individual (contoured to a person’s own style, proclivities, and interests) yet more social (involving networking, group work, the wisdom of crowds, etc.). How these seemingly contradictory directions are addressed impacts the future complexion of learning.” This goes without saying that we are on the brink of a change in some fashion. Right now I think it may be some years away as the pendulum of change in education is a slow swing at best. I hope that the environment my daughter finds herself in a few years will not be the environment that I am currently teaching in. I don’t know if I am ready to turn over everything to the social network, “pods of learning” concept just yet, but I can see where a lot of good would come from moving towards that as an eventual goal. Change comes hard sometimes with the loss of some great things in the anticipation of some greater new things. So I will continue to look to the future while I work teach, and learn in the now. Maybe someday I will look back at this post and wonder why I was ever wary of the tipping point. I would add though that I am more afraid of tipping back into the way it has always been done rather than tipping forward into the social network web 2.0 future.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
My Educational Philosophy
When I was interviewing for a teaching position after graduating way back in 1992, I had this answer down pat. I had been "schooled" in the correct things to say, based upon the philosophy of each different district. I used to have all of the "correct" answers but now that I have been teaching for 15 years I am less likely to say what the people want to hear and more likely to say what I believe in my gut.
I just received credit in an online class (EPD 224 Teaching in the Middle School) that stresses the importance of placing the student into the educational process by placing them at the location before trying to teach them anything. This would allow you to spark previous learning in the students, which would then allow the students to immerse themselves in the learning. The theory went on to describe tying learning to the 17 senses that allow a student to cement in their learning of each concept prior to moving to the next concept. I totally agree with the concept of teaching fewer "factoids" and more real world (right now, and how can I use this now) concepts. But, the reality is that without a foundation of some important concepts and ideas the rest of the house of education will tumble down.
There is something to be said for the way things have been done, but embracing the new also allows for new ideas and studies that have been done on brain research and how students learn. Refusing to accept the new, dooms students to the "if it was good enough for me it is good enough for you" mentality. But chasing after the newest and latest "flavor of the month" educational method is also counterproductive. My philosophy is "stay in the now" accept that the way you were taught is not going to cut with today's student but, changing the instructional methods every time the wind shifts is an unnecessary burden on the teacher and the students.
It is very likely that educational shifts will continue to develop as we learn more and more about how the brain works and learns most effectively. I will be endeavoring to incorporate some of the newer ideas into how I teach as I continue in my educational pursuits. This will include taking classes that explore different methods of teaching as well as trying to stay current in my subject matter. It is unfortunate that they appear to be disparate subjects at times. There is the knowledge of how to teach and the subject that you teach and frequently (if you are not a core area teacher) teaching using the method and trying to apply that to the subject is not very effective. The classes that I took to obtain my SEI (Structure English Immersion) endorsement were primarily established for the core area classes. Modifying the method to fit the content took some finagling.
This is what is necessary though if I am to continue as a “teacher”. I tried the sitting back and resting on my laurels method after I received my Masters. This promptly turned into taking several classes to get caught up to the rest of the educational world. My favorite classes have always been the classes that taught me how to do something that I could immediately apply to my personal or professional life. That must be why I naturally gravitated towards the computer because it is the epitome of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), which melds perfectly with my linear mindset.
I believe that Albert Einstein said it best when he said, “Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.” I love teaching a subject area that demands immediate interaction with the device you are learning about!
I just received credit in an online class (EPD 224 Teaching in the Middle School) that stresses the importance of placing the student into the educational process by placing them at the location before trying to teach them anything. This would allow you to spark previous learning in the students, which would then allow the students to immerse themselves in the learning. The theory went on to describe tying learning to the 17 senses that allow a student to cement in their learning of each concept prior to moving to the next concept. I totally agree with the concept of teaching fewer "factoids" and more real world (right now, and how can I use this now) concepts. But, the reality is that without a foundation of some important concepts and ideas the rest of the house of education will tumble down.
There is something to be said for the way things have been done, but embracing the new also allows for new ideas and studies that have been done on brain research and how students learn. Refusing to accept the new, dooms students to the "if it was good enough for me it is good enough for you" mentality. But chasing after the newest and latest "flavor of the month" educational method is also counterproductive. My philosophy is "stay in the now" accept that the way you were taught is not going to cut with today's student but, changing the instructional methods every time the wind shifts is an unnecessary burden on the teacher and the students.
It is very likely that educational shifts will continue to develop as we learn more and more about how the brain works and learns most effectively. I will be endeavoring to incorporate some of the newer ideas into how I teach as I continue in my educational pursuits. This will include taking classes that explore different methods of teaching as well as trying to stay current in my subject matter. It is unfortunate that they appear to be disparate subjects at times. There is the knowledge of how to teach and the subject that you teach and frequently (if you are not a core area teacher) teaching using the method and trying to apply that to the subject is not very effective. The classes that I took to obtain my SEI (Structure English Immersion) endorsement were primarily established for the core area classes. Modifying the method to fit the content took some finagling.
This is what is necessary though if I am to continue as a “teacher”. I tried the sitting back and resting on my laurels method after I received my Masters. This promptly turned into taking several classes to get caught up to the rest of the educational world. My favorite classes have always been the classes that taught me how to do something that I could immediately apply to my personal or professional life. That must be why I naturally gravitated towards the computer because it is the epitome of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), which melds perfectly with my linear mindset.
I believe that Albert Einstein said it best when he said, “Example isn’t another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.” I love teaching a subject area that demands immediate interaction with the device you are learning about!
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