Mr. Hall believes this chapter is the most important part of
this book. I would say the chapter was
an interesting read. The section, I
believe, that stood out to me is the section describing the three dominant
teaching delivery practices. The
traditional teaching is where the teacher is solely in charge – totalitarianism. Certainly, this type of teaching has its
place – in history. I believe since this
was the way I was taught might be the reason I just passed my way through the
early years of my education. Looking at
my time at UTSA (not giving its full name to protect identity) it seems the
courses where creativity and critical thinking were present my grades soared. On the other hand, the courses where the
instructor was traditional I simply slide by to pass.
The next type is the innovative teaching style. The teacher is still mainly in charge but is
willing to engage in bringing new strategies and methodologies to the
students. This type is essentially a
dictatorship. Students are given little
opportunity to explore technology except through research and multimedia
presentations for the most part. It
would seem most teacher fall into this style of teaching.
“Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs
22:6). Training does not mean control
the spirit. Should not the same apply to
learning in our classrooms?
Picciano’s chapter six to most might seem boring and it is. We must realize technology is a part of the
educational journey. Whether the
discussion is how or when to incorporate technology each teacher must explore
the possibilities to ensure each students has an opportunity to learn. Technology in reality makes the teacher’s job
easier. Technology opens up doors to the
future – so why would anyone want to withhold the future from the students?
When I sat reading this section of Hall’s book, I thought to myself, “There is a new phase to teaching slowly making its way to the classroom” and it has to do with flipping the classroom. Teachers will soon become the facilitator where everything is done on the computers. In one of my technology classes, I had the privilege of working with a teacher who has already totally flipped her own classroom inviting her students to BYOD (bringing your own device) and grades are soaring higher than ever before. Students are raised on technology today she says, so why not teach them with technology. She even went out and purchased 5 cheap laptops for her classroom for a couple of students to use while they are there just to prove a point about technology to her school district this year. Wow!!! I was so impressed. She is virtually paperless. Everything she does is online, talking to the parents, interacting with the students, giving all assignments, and blogging with them for grades. All quizzes and tests are graded automatically online allowing her “so much” free time. As long as her students are maintaining a B average, she allows them to move at their own pace so many of them are way ahead of schedule. If they are ahead, she encourages what she calls, “student teaching” in her classroom. The students playing the teacher role earns them extra credit; this is teaching them leadership and responsibility.
ReplyDeleteLast year she went to the principal, gave a presentation, showed her entire Edmodo site she had designed, got the approval to do the study, and kept everything aligned with her state’s requirements, and implemented it this year. She is setting the stage for a major change in her district; something I would love to see happen in our schools. It only takes one devoted teacher to impact an entire district. I am following her lead and designing my own Edmodo classroom in hopes that I will get approval for the 2013-2014 school year.
Blessings ~ Ruthie
These descriptions really hit home as we were discussing my high school years over dinner tonight. This is one of those less than perfect experiences that I’m not 100% proud, but we all can learn from in the long run. My AP English teacher was the definition of a traditional teacher. It was her classroom and you were only allowed to speak when spoken to. In addition, you were only allowed to discuss ideas that she wanted to discuss. Just like any typical English class, there was a lot of “what do you think the author meant” type discussions. Most of the students enjoyed this type of open discussion. I on the other hand, quickly realized that it the discussion was only open when you gave the answer that she wanted to hear. However, she would always follow up with, “be able to justify your answer.” Well, I took this as a challenge. I would come up with some off the wall ideas that I knew were technically wrong, but some way or another, I would justify my answers. Needless to say, my teacher didn’t find it half as entertaining as I did. Within a matter of weeks, the teacher contacted my mother. She told me to write a five page paper on a specific book and she would pass me with a C on the contingency that I would not come back to class. As a high school senior that was great. As an educator myself, I really wonder how she got by with that.
ReplyDeleteThe moral of this story is that pretty much the only thing that I got out of AP English was what kind of educator I did not want to be. That single experience taught me to see each student as an individual and respect every experience and opinion not matter how far-fetched they may seem to be.
Brain-based learning is such an effective way to teach. Not only are students learning the content put forth in the state standards, but they are learning important skills like collaboration, problem solving, and revision. Brain-based learning, or project-based learning gives students the opportunity to produce work that is valuable to their community. It is important the end product is free of graphical errors, spelling problems, and contains valuable information.
ReplyDelete