Hello,
Now is the time to tell everyone what I learned in this course. I have spent many hours behind the computer, and learned so many things about teaching in a very short time. The internet is the place to go to keep up to date on education. Computer based learning definitely requires perseverance. I learned that if there is a possibility that something will go wrong, then it will. Always have a backup plan! If you are going to present anything online, make sure you post it in several places on the Internet. Keep a record of all your passwords and nicknames on the computer, and please--"don't get aggravated." Remember Kenneth Robinson's video "Paradigm Shift;" the insignificance of our planet in relation to the size of the universe dwarfs any problems that we face in our microscopic lives. Besides that, Robinson truly believes that our education system is not fulfilling our society's needs. Our education system seems to be build on the premise of preparing our students to work in factories. But societies needs have changed and we need people that can think more creatively to solve the many problems that we face and will encounter in the future. I mention Robinson's critical assertions because I think that a main theme of our course was devoted to the need of our system to change, and change now.
In taking this course I realized that our school system is changing because our society is changing. We studied educational philosophies, and I realized that our old ways of schooling with a more authoritarian philosophy is not helping our students. We need to lean more towards student-centered learning. Newer philosophies such as humanism, and constructivism are pervading our schools, and for good reason. Kids are losing interest in education, and they need to be given an opportunity to make more decisions about their learning. New learning, in the constructivist perspective requires self-regulation and the building of conceptual structures through reflection and abstraction. Concept development and deep understanding is the foci.
This perspective is consistent with the constructivist tendency to explore multiple truths, representations, perspectives and realities.
As teachers, we need encourage more student initiated questions, independent thought, and interaction between students. In our more cliche methods, the goal of the learner was to regurgitate the accepted explanation. We need to make more of an impact and foster ingenuity and creativity. Technology is increasingly being touted as an optimal medium for the application of constructivist principles. And, the computer-based learning environment allows for student responses to drive lessons, shift instructional strategies, and alter content when needed. Other theories we studied were differentiated intruction, which I think goes hand and hand with constructivist theory. Differentiated instruction is formed around the precepts that
1. No two children are alike.
2. No two children learn in an identical way.
3. An enriched environment for one student is not enriched for another.
4. In the classroom we should teach children to think for themselves (constuct their own knowledge).
The most important thing about differentiation is the need to know the learners. Curricular goals may be similar for all students, however, methodologies employed in a classroom must be varied to suit the individual needs of all children. Consistent with constuctivism, differentiation allows students to take greater responsibility and ownership for their learning, and also provides opportunities for peer teaching and cooperative learning. Here is four ways to differentiate:
1. Content--content can be described as the knowledge, skills, and attitudes we want children to learn. Differentiation in content requires that students are pre-tested so the teacher cna identify the students strengths. Another way to differentiate content is simply to permit students to accelerate this rate of progress.
2. Process and Activities--Differentiating the processes means varying learning activities or strategies to provide appropriate methods for students to explore the concepts. Giving students alternate paths to manipulate the ideas is embedded in this concept. (Graphic organizers, maps, diagrams, or charts to allow them to display their comprehension of concepts is a good way to implement this idea).
3. The Product--Differentiating the product means varying the complexity of the product that students create to demonstrate mastery of concepts. Students working below grade level may have reduced performance expectations, while students above grade level may be asded to produce work that requires more advanced thinking. It is also motivating to offer a choice to students.
4. The Environment/Learning Style-- lighting/ posters / visual distrators/ seating / and mixing learning styles and multiple intelligences are key to differentiation.
A topic I was interested in deeply was the curriculum, and the factors that impact its design. There are various form of curricula in schools all operating simultaneously. One should come to the conclusion that learning is all connected. Here are some ways of interpreting the vast elements of curriculum:
1. Explicit--courses offered, syllabi, tests given, materials used.
2. Implicit--the "hidden curriculum" emerges incidentally from the interactions between the students and the physical. For instance the building of social/ communication skills.
3. Extracurricular or Cocurriculum--student activities, sports, clubs, students government, and the school newspaper. Encourages student self-esteem, and civic participation, improves race relations, and raises children's aspirations.
Curricula throughout the nation are undergoing scrutiny and a major theme that I studied in depth was multiculturalism, and how to integrate it throughout the school. "Global Education" investigates world topics that span national borders including conflict reduction and ecology. Global education is a growing curricular phenomenon. Websites now available to students focus on international issues form child labor and animal migration to confronting intolerance and racism.
Next focusing on technology was a important part of the learning process in this course. Many new methods in education include the use of technology to enhance collaboration and communication in a world of gadgetry. Students are constantly ingrained in some sort of social networking, and finding ways to incorporate these tool in the education process should be a priority. Web 2.0 has many features; here are some:
Web 2.0=
Student centered learning/ multi-sensory stimulation/ multi-path progression/ multi-media/ collaborative work/ information exchange/
Active/ exploratory/ inquiry based, critical thinking/ proactive/ planned/ authentic / real world/
Information=created --shared-- remixed-- repurposed-- repurposed--passed along.
Vocabulary = images, video, multimedia, music, visual.
Theses concepts were put to work on the "School of the Future" project, which I enjoyed tremendously. There motto was "Infuse Technology anywhere, anytime." The school of the future project even insisted on integrating technology into the fabric of community life. Adult education programs, training courses, and community involvement to relay the importance a school has on the community.
Change --The Slogan of the Century
For the last part of my dynamic summary of Nature of schools I will talk about change. Again using Ken Robinson's video "Changing Paradigms"as a reference our present century will undergo the biggest changes in the history of civilization. Many schools are not keeping up with public demands. When change becomes necessary here's a way to implement your plan:
--Identify what it is in your control to change.
--Identify your options
--create a support system
--examine your attitude.
--Remain flexible
--give your self a break (for a little bit!)
--strive to achieve balance & perspective.
The hardest thing to change is the hardening of attitudes. Take advice and don't take a setback personal. Confidence comes from conquering "fear of change." Here are some more things to keep in mind. We must convince ourselves to change from:
Being Closed to Being Open
Denying Feelings to Expressing Feelings
Being Defensive to Accepting Feedback
Convention to Experimentation
Being Suspicious to Trusting others
Being Guarded to Being Spontaneous
Avoiding Conflict to Facing Conflict
Being Rigid to Being Flexible/ Sincere/ self-aware.
Change is permeating every aspect of our society. So what kind of challenges are we facing? What kinds of students are we teaching? Ladies and gentlemen, they are not the same today as when we grew up. We have entered the "Knowledge Age."
1. Every two -- three years our knowledge base doubles!
2. High-Schoolers have been exposed to more information than their grandparents have been in a lifetime!
3. More change is expected in the next 3 decades than in the last 3 centuries!
So what do our students need to be able to do? Preparing them for a changing world requires that they are adaptable and able to handle information in an effective manner.
They need to be able to speak well, write well, analyze. With information they should be able to validate, synthesize, gain leverage, communicate, and collaborate. Having our students familiarize themselves with technology to do these things will be important.
