This TED discussion made me think about several things that relate to teaching.
First of all it was the idea of how useful visual materials are in order for us to make sense of the world around us and to create new meaning - basically to learn. I have always considered myself a visual learner so it is easy for me to relate to the speaker's ideas. We have been talking about Gardner's multiple intelligences and I know that different people learn in different ways and what works for some does not work for everybody. Still...using visual aids seems like such a common sense tool that can enhance everybody's learning that I find it hard to imagine that there are any people (besides the visually impaired) that would not benefit from its use. Am I mistaken? Are there instances in which visual aids are not welcomed? I do not want to say that it is the only way that we can teach but it should certainly be something that we include as much as we can into our teaching.
This video resonated very well with me because today my group had the presentation on photographs as resources in social studies classes. We mentioned how important photographs are in the study of history: to build context, to put things into perspective and to help children relate to the historical events and to the people that lived in the past.
Finally, I can also link this video to the use of technology in the classroom. He was talking about a new software that makes it very easy to use visual aids and more than that, to make them interactive. I think this is an important idea: it is not just about the materials that we use, but also about the ways in which we use those materials and how appealing we make them for our students.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Planning
Although I know I still have a long way to go and a lot of things to learn I feel I'm growing and I understand a little bit more every day. I find extremely useful my readings from Tomlinson and Wiggins & McTighe, they reveal so much useful information about how good planning should look and feel like.
I have to admit that many times (maybe every time) I have planned lessons and activities with children I thought like the teacher in Tomlinson's 5th chapter: "I thought all they were supposed to do was read the story and do something with it". Or, better still, I thought that the list of criteria I use to select my activities has to have "being fun for kids" at the top of the list.
It's not that I was not aware of the existence and importance of objectives and assessment strategies, but they were always in the background, eclipsed by other things that I considered to be more important. I am starting to view planning, objective writing and assessment in a new light. It is an important change of perspective. I feel I am much more critical with myself, with the lessons and units that I am trying to plan and with the teachers that I observe.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
New Insights
We keep talking about the way learning happens and ways of knowing when someone has learned/understood something. Well for my part one of the ways I know that I have learned or understood something is when a sudden "click" happens. In a single instant something that I've heard, read or touched triggers a rearrangement of the information that I previously held.
This week it happened twice.
The first time, we were discussing (or trying to discuss) the role of the teacher. This question has always seemed so vast to me. How do you answer such a question? Where do you start? How do you grapple the magnitude of this subject? Well something, a single question, helped me reposition myself and start looking for answers. The question was something of the type: what is the role of teachers in this age of technology? It suddenly became easier for me to see where the question and its answer might lead me. There are still a lot of things to think about when answering the question but I feel my job is a little easier because technology enters the equation.
Our job as teachers should be made easier because we have the luxury of modern technology. However, I realize that there are traps in the use of technology too, and we need to educate ourselves in order to spot them. What technology do we use? How and when do we use it? With what purpose do we use it? At every moment we need to ask ourselves if the tools that we use work for our classroom and for our students. Do we use technology just for the sake of using it or do we see and exploit a real advantage? How much trust should we put in the technologies that we use? How reliable and real is the learning that takes place through the use of technology? I guess reflecting on these questions is one more duty on the long list of "teacher duties".
The second thing that sparked a new view about the teacher's role is the idea of never answering students' questions. This quarter I am growing more and more aware of how important it is to know how to ask questions, rather than to give answers. It is a change of perspective for me, because I have always thought about teachers as the holders of answers. Well I realize now how much more valuable is a teacher that knows how to ask questions. It is indeed much more difficult to ask questions than to give answers. I need to train this skill and eventually reach that desired situation in which I never answer questions, but instead I follow up with another question.
This week it happened twice.
The first time, we were discussing (or trying to discuss) the role of the teacher. This question has always seemed so vast to me. How do you answer such a question? Where do you start? How do you grapple the magnitude of this subject? Well something, a single question, helped me reposition myself and start looking for answers. The question was something of the type: what is the role of teachers in this age of technology? It suddenly became easier for me to see where the question and its answer might lead me. There are still a lot of things to think about when answering the question but I feel my job is a little easier because technology enters the equation.
Our job as teachers should be made easier because we have the luxury of modern technology. However, I realize that there are traps in the use of technology too, and we need to educate ourselves in order to spot them. What technology do we use? How and when do we use it? With what purpose do we use it? At every moment we need to ask ourselves if the tools that we use work for our classroom and for our students. Do we use technology just for the sake of using it or do we see and exploit a real advantage? How much trust should we put in the technologies that we use? How reliable and real is the learning that takes place through the use of technology? I guess reflecting on these questions is one more duty on the long list of "teacher duties".
The second thing that sparked a new view about the teacher's role is the idea of never answering students' questions. This quarter I am growing more and more aware of how important it is to know how to ask questions, rather than to give answers. It is a change of perspective for me, because I have always thought about teachers as the holders of answers. Well I realize now how much more valuable is a teacher that knows how to ask questions. It is indeed much more difficult to ask questions than to give answers. I need to train this skill and eventually reach that desired situation in which I never answer questions, but instead I follow up with another question.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Child Driven Education
This is the second time I've watched Sugata Mitra's TED talk, The Child Driven Education.
My first reaction was of shock and almost fear: is this the future? Will there be a time when teachers will no longer be needed? Are they already no longer needed?
Then, thinking more about the video I found more questions that answers. Admitting that we found the perfect "teaching strategy", the use of technology and internet: who and how decides what the children will learn? Will we let the children have complete freedom in this area too? How will that work? Will the children be able to learn all that they need to learn, by themselves? Or have we reached a point where we no longer have to learn anything because everything is online, available to everyone? That will be indeed a sad time when all our knowledge will be at the mercy of machines and technology; when we will no longer be able to function without access to technology, without being wired. We could argue that we are already very dependent on technology but do we want the internet to become the sole keeper of the hard won knowledge of our human civilization? It is never a good idea to put all your eggs in only one basket. So why would it be a good idea in this case?
Will the children make their own learning schedule?
If YES: how much time will they need to master all the knowledge and skills that they need? Will they be efficient, will they dedicate daily time to this endeavor? Will not that be too much computer time? How about socializing and interacting with people face to face? Will their interactions be restricted to the four people in their group and people that they talk to on Skype?
If NO: will they be willing to continue learning this way day after day? Will learning stay as interesting and exciting every day? Will they not get bored and uninterested to use the same technique, the same technology and methodology every day?
My first reaction was of shock and almost fear: is this the future? Will there be a time when teachers will no longer be needed? Are they already no longer needed?
Then, thinking more about the video I found more questions that answers. Admitting that we found the perfect "teaching strategy", the use of technology and internet: who and how decides what the children will learn? Will we let the children have complete freedom in this area too? How will that work? Will the children be able to learn all that they need to learn, by themselves? Or have we reached a point where we no longer have to learn anything because everything is online, available to everyone? That will be indeed a sad time when all our knowledge will be at the mercy of machines and technology; when we will no longer be able to function without access to technology, without being wired. We could argue that we are already very dependent on technology but do we want the internet to become the sole keeper of the hard won knowledge of our human civilization? It is never a good idea to put all your eggs in only one basket. So why would it be a good idea in this case?
Will the children make their own learning schedule?
If YES: how much time will they need to master all the knowledge and skills that they need? Will they be efficient, will they dedicate daily time to this endeavor? Will not that be too much computer time? How about socializing and interacting with people face to face? Will their interactions be restricted to the four people in their group and people that they talk to on Skype?
If NO: will they be willing to continue learning this way day after day? Will learning stay as interesting and exciting every day? Will they not get bored and uninterested to use the same technique, the same technology and methodology every day?
The Differentiated Classroom
I have started reading about differentiated classrooms this week and it struck me how very few examples of this type of instruction I have seen.
In my main placement I noticed big differences between students. There are students at both ends of the spectrum: on one hand very advanced, that write, read and do math at a higher level than their grade level and on the other hand there are students that need a lot of support, that cannot complete assignments without constant guidance and supervision. And then there is the middle group, for which the classroom work seems to be just right.
The only differentiated teaching that I have seen taking place is reading groups. All the children in the classroom have been separated into groups according to their reading skills and they spend 20 minutes a day with an instructional assistant. While this is better than nothing I cannot help feeling that it is too little. How about math, how about everything else? How can we do a better job at helping learners that need more support and how can we challenge the students that can do more?
The Tomlinson text offered one idea: personalized assignments, that are addressed to the needs and skills of every student. I can see how this would work for individual or small group assignments or for homework.It is a huge work, however, for the teacher. Moreover, when I try to picture a classroom applying this technique I imagine a class in which every child works individually or in very small groups (the same group, most of the time).
How do we include whole class instruction in this landscape? Do we include it? It seems to me that without whole class instruction or some type of activities that involve everybody in the classroom you cannot build a community.How do you balance classroom community building and differentiated instruction? I am sure there are ways but at present I find it difficult to picture a classroom in which the two coexist peacefully.
In my main placement I noticed big differences between students. There are students at both ends of the spectrum: on one hand very advanced, that write, read and do math at a higher level than their grade level and on the other hand there are students that need a lot of support, that cannot complete assignments without constant guidance and supervision. And then there is the middle group, for which the classroom work seems to be just right.
The only differentiated teaching that I have seen taking place is reading groups. All the children in the classroom have been separated into groups according to their reading skills and they spend 20 minutes a day with an instructional assistant. While this is better than nothing I cannot help feeling that it is too little. How about math, how about everything else? How can we do a better job at helping learners that need more support and how can we challenge the students that can do more?
The Tomlinson text offered one idea: personalized assignments, that are addressed to the needs and skills of every student. I can see how this would work for individual or small group assignments or for homework.It is a huge work, however, for the teacher. Moreover, when I try to picture a classroom applying this technique I imagine a class in which every child works individually or in very small groups (the same group, most of the time).
How do we include whole class instruction in this landscape? Do we include it? It seems to me that without whole class instruction or some type of activities that involve everybody in the classroom you cannot build a community.How do you balance classroom community building and differentiated instruction? I am sure there are ways but at present I find it difficult to picture a classroom in which the two coexist peacefully.
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