"The point of school is not to get good at school but to effectively parlay what we learned in school in other learning and in life." - Grant Wiggins
Week three's content really challenged me to to reconsider how I approached content design. Often times, when you are teaching students how to use technology, you give them a step by step process on how to perform particular tasks. For example if I'm teaching a child how to create a platform game, I show them each step in order, hoping that they will apply these steps correctly in there own games. Often times when I do that this I notice that the next day, many will ask me to show them the steps again. The information did not effectively transfer and they needed me as a guide.
I now see that developing lessons that focus on teaching students "How to think" vs "What to do" will probably be the most effective way to transfer the skills that they need in order to become proficient with the development software. Instead of a step by step foundation for lessons, I should instead create a more dynamic core, teaching them concepts of video game design and and how to plan instead of training them to follow a set pattern and stay in pocket with a limited number of steps.
The key to making this dynamic core is going to be to teach students how to ask the right questions so that the answer that the receive requires them to utilize a skill that will connect the step that they are trying to learn to the overall goal and concept. This is why inquiry leaning's focus on connecting the dots between different sources of material and stimulating a student's independence is enriching. It causes students to approach issues in a manner that is "outside of the box". The classroom for so long has been this box and technology is the means to escape out of it.
It is the job of the modern educator is to utilize instructional technology, web 2.0 tools, and social networking in conjunction with broad learning goals in order to enhance a student's ability solve their own problems. Enriching them with problem solving and analytical skills that they can utilize in any situation regardless of the course or the limitations of confines of a classroom.
It is the job of the modern educator is to utilize instructional technology, web 2.0 tools, and social networking in conjunction with broad learning goals in order to enhance a student's ability solve their own problems. Enriching them with problem solving and analytical skills that they can utilize in any situation regardless of the course or the limitations of confines of a classroom.
Being in an elementary school setting, I find that in my school we are continuously having to give the students step by step instructions. The students seem to have difficulties with just being able to explore concepts because they have been taught to wait for the process. I also see that a lot of my students don't have the language skills to promote understanding of concepts, granted that I am in an RTI setting-these students are below grade level- they go blank when you tell them "have at it!"
ReplyDeleteWhile it is the job of the modern educator to use instructional technology and all the other technology tools; I find that a lot of the educators I am around are too hesitant to approach and utilize these tools to enhance their students learning. They seem to stick to their old ways. This to me is just a disservice to the students (and themselves) in helping the students reach a higher potential.
Too right! We, as teachers, are often caught up in the "what to do" because we already know how to think. If we were to focus more on the "how to think," the students could guide themselves without having to ask us about the steps along the way. However, the norm is to clip students' wings and keep them thinking and acting a certain way. Sad as that is, it is the truth. It seems that the more teachers try to break out of the norm, the more they are pushed against. I hope that you are right about technology being the means to break out of this trend. If we can use technology to push the sides of the box to the point of breaking, the entire field will be better off.
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