Experienced teachers are collectively rolling their eyes as the wave of resources, money, professional development, and rhetoric brings its crushing weight down with "integrating educational technology," "critical thinking skills," "problem based learning," "global education," "authentic assessment," and/or "flipped classrooms."
New teachers graduate from faculties of education armed with iPads and determination. They enter classrooms and quickly become disillusioned by blank stares from students, skill gaps, and standardized tests. Sometimes they are encouraged by colleagues and administrators. More likely, they find themselves drowning in the divide and trying to do it all: teach the way their more traditional mentors teach and incorporate new approaches. They lack confidence in their pedagogy, and students smell the fear.
However, just because something is a fad, is trending, is charged with rhetoric, does not mean that it lacks value. What all fads should have taught us is that there is no panacea for education. Experienced teachers who want students to learn are constantly adjusting their methods, day-to-day, student-to-student, year-to-year. They seek ways to make content relevant and to help students engage. They respond to a changing world in the best way they can.
The world has changed immensely in recent years. The proliferation of the internet, mobile devices, and computer tools will not pass in time. It can be a great opportunity for educators to maximize student learning. Yet this world is completely overwhelming even for the best-intentioned educators (including me). Each of us needs a focus that can guide our decision-making, evaluate our effectiveness, and help us determine next steps.
So far, my answers are:
1) Talk to them.
2) Figure out this new world for myself.
What else can I do to help my students become capable learners in this new world?
Great post, Yana. It's so tough to navigate all the new, fantastic-sounding ideas and combine the best of them (for the time being, as deemed by edu-gurus) with what we know works well in the classroom. It helps me to always start with the question - how will this help my students learn (and what exactly is it I want them to be learning, which is not always solely curriculum-based)? What skills do I want them to take with them beyond the classroom walls? The manner of instruction then follows. Maybe some methods are fads, some are traditional, but as long as we can mix it up and provide interesting tasks for the students, I consider it a win :)
ReplyDeleteI think it's worth noting, too, that while often these fads present themselves in *how* we teach, these changes are sometimes built right into the curriculum. Elementary teachers see this particularly in in the case of math vs. new math vs. new new math. It is easy to debate the best way to present information, but not so easy to argue what's already been carved into ministry document stone.
Finally, to answer your question - what can you do to help students become capable learners? Take risks yourself, and in doing so encourage them to take risks too. They'll become better students and we'll become better teachers because of it!
I absolutely agree, Heather. I can do my students no greater service than to model the willingness to step outside the comfort zone and evaluate the results. What did we conclude after the Design Learning/Maker IGNITEd session? Give us students who are will to take learning risks, and we can teach them anything.
DeleteAwesome post Yana!
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree - fads in education are exhausting and I believe can distract from the actual goals. The amount of time, energy and money spent when people latch onto a new digital tool or idea frightens me. When people go ballistic over one tool and jump on board because everyone else is, or it seems "cool", I swear a little piece of me dies. :)
We (as teachers) all need toolboxes. We need to understand good teaching and to be open to learning new pedagogy and methods as society changes and our learners and research reflect that. If I am a connected learner then I will have a general idea of what other teachers are doing and using to ensure that their students get timely, effective, descriptive feedback. Or, to support students struggling. I can then choose which tools might work in my situation and focus some energy learning those.
Instead of jumping on band wagons, we need to be connected learners who know where to turn when we need ideas to help meet student needs. This is why your Manitoulin IGNITed got me so excited :) You are all so open minded, focused on good teaching and connected to personal learning networks. A great model.
We can still get excited about new tools, but we have to avoid the mentality that "everyone needs to use it". There are many, many other options for every tool out there. No tool is perfect.
I like Heathers comment about taking risks. If we are open to learning new tools and strategies when there is purpose, and feel comfortable doing this in front of students, they learn so much about problem solving and resiliency from us.
Jaclyn, I also worry that many educators will dismiss the opportunities provided by technology and connectivity as just another bandwagon. They will never recognize the leverage such tools provide. I guess, as long little harm will come from students having exposure to a broad range of teachers. In fact, perhaps, there is still a place for the traditional rows and socratic lessons.
DeleteThere are fads and then there are pedagogies that have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years, they just fall in and out of favor.
ReplyDeleteTechnology doesn't force us to change the way we teach, but it does make it easier to be either student centered or teacher centered.
The real power of technology as I see it is the ability to facilitate connections and collaborations.