At first, Ken's revolution intimidated me because, like most people, change is scary. As a student, I was taught through steps and practice problems. I was unable to use what I learned in my math classes and apply it in the real world, or even give an example of how is used in the real world. It was not until college that I actually was able to apply my knowledge of mathematics. Being taught steps is not how students learn and retain knowledge. Project based learning will allow the students to make connections between multiple content areas and apply their knowledge to the real world. Project based learning will help me become a better teacher. I will become more of a facilitator. I will teach my students the knowledge that is essential and allow them to learn through exploring the topic. My greatest challenge will be discipline and student motivation. The students are so accustomed to learning steps and procedures, and then practicing with those steps. They are not able to think critically on their own. It will be a challenge for me to get the students thinking and coming up with solutions on their own. I am excited to see how I grow through this experience.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Sarah Garner; Blog 1
Ken made a very interesting comparison between education and fast food. He
stated that they were both standardized. As a nation, we want everything and
everybody to be the same. Public education rarely allows students to explore
their talents. However, through time and reform we are moving away from that
thought process. Ken said that most students who leave the school system were
not allowed to explore their talents and find their passion. As a nation,
we need to move away from the fast food or industrial model, and go to what Ken
called the agriculture model. We need to allow personalization and help
our students find their passion and talents. This completely correlates to
project based learning. Through different projects, the students are allowed to
explore different career fields and experiences. They are able to find their
talents and follow them. We need to lay the foundation to allow our students to
grow and flourish.
At first, Ken's revolution intimidated me because, like most people, change is scary. As a student, I was taught through steps and practice problems. I was unable to use what I learned in my math classes and apply it in the real world, or even give an example of how is used in the real world. It was not until college that I actually was able to apply my knowledge of mathematics. Being taught steps is not how students learn and retain knowledge. Project based learning will allow the students to make connections between multiple content areas and apply their knowledge to the real world. Project based learning will help me become a better teacher. I will become more of a facilitator. I will teach my students the knowledge that is essential and allow them to learn through exploring the topic. My greatest challenge will be discipline and student motivation. The students are so accustomed to learning steps and procedures, and then practicing with those steps. They are not able to think critically on their own. It will be a challenge for me to get the students thinking and coming up with solutions on their own. I am excited to see how I grow through this experience.
At first, Ken's revolution intimidated me because, like most people, change is scary. As a student, I was taught through steps and practice problems. I was unable to use what I learned in my math classes and apply it in the real world, or even give an example of how is used in the real world. It was not until college that I actually was able to apply my knowledge of mathematics. Being taught steps is not how students learn and retain knowledge. Project based learning will allow the students to make connections between multiple content areas and apply their knowledge to the real world. Project based learning will help me become a better teacher. I will become more of a facilitator. I will teach my students the knowledge that is essential and allow them to learn through exploring the topic. My greatest challenge will be discipline and student motivation. The students are so accustomed to learning steps and procedures, and then practicing with those steps. They are not able to think critically on their own. It will be a challenge for me to get the students thinking and coming up with solutions on their own. I am excited to see how I grow through this experience.
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I like what you said about that not all students learn and retain the knowledge they are needing through steps and that they need to make those connections between other content areas to be able to apply to real-world situations. I also agree with you about the challenges we may face with the student motivation. That is one of my biggest fears in this teaching strategy is that I will not keep all of my students motivated or interested throughout, which would then cause disciplinary issues.
ReplyDeleteThe sentence about personlization stuck out to me. Kids learn different ways. When I coached baseball at Dorman we coach players to field the backhand two different ways. We didn't care which one they used, just practice both and see which one works best for you. Some kids can be taught cookie cutter style, but more students are needing different strategies ,like PBL, in order to personalize, learn, and retain information. Great post!!!
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said about providing students with the foundations to grow and flourish. If we can give students many opportunities to find their passion and things that interest them, then I think that will change the whole classroom dynamic. I also think that it's not only going to be a challenge to get students to think critically and problem solve on their own, but I know something that I will have to work on is also moving away from just teaching the steps and then practicing the skills.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest son was a math major in college, and then went on to receive his masters in mathematics. He received the math award when he graduated from Dorman High. His AP Calculus teacher told me once that he understood math better than any student she had ever seen in her 30 years of teaching. This oldest son of mine has taught me alot about education. He reads alot about alternative ways of teaching. He once told me that one of his college classes on mathematics should be taught in elementary school because it showed you why you use math and how it is applied in the real world. Granted this is coming from someone who understands math in a fundamentally different way than most students. When he was young he wanted to be an astronomer so I bought tons of learning company videos on physics, mathematics, and science applications. I was always immersing him in any theories that applied to mathematics. Believe it or not this immersion made math so much easier for him. He developed a passion for the application of mathematics. He now writes software but is self taught at it. In college he stopped taking notes, and just started listening. He said anyone can teach themselves anything if they have a desire to learn it. He believes the entire way we teach math is incorrect. He thinks students should be applying math by coding starting in Kindergarten. My son writes all his own software and develops what ever he wants for his own use on the internet/ computer. He said that is the way of the future, it such a simple thing to do but is is not being taught early enough. He feels this would go along way in helping students understand the application of mathematics. This is PBL in practice. In high school he took keyboarding and the teacher told me he was so advanced she couldn't give him enough to do. A great PBl then would have been for him to maybe learn to write software with his extra time, or some other advanced computer application.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the connections you made between Sir Ken Robinson's points about the need for change in public education with what we've learned about project based learning. You identified discipline and student motivation as areas you wanted to target for growth. As you begin work on your unit plan today, keep these two areas in mind as you work to create your driving question, your culminating product(s), your need to knows, and most of all, the scaffolding and support your students will need to be successful.
Sincerely,
Dawn
This is Robert Smith's Comment:
ReplyDeleteSarah Garner; Blog 1
You wrote, "They [learners] are able to find their talents and follow them. We [teachers] need to lay the foundation to allow our students to grow and flourish." Teachers are the builders of learning. I am a strong metaphor guy, so here goes... Teachers pour a solid foundation for learners throughout the primary grades. Then, they begin to add structural supports in middle school. Finally, during high school, they cover that foundation and those supports with carpets, or hardwoods, paint, and moldings. At the end of their schooling careers, teachers should admire their learners, like we do when we move into a new home. Proud of the shiny, state-of-the-art person who is standing before us. If, however, there are cracks when the foundation is poured, or the ground was not properly leveled, then that home will not stand. If the supports were uneven, broken, or missing pieces, then the walls will fall. The roof will crack. Water will seep in and start to erode everything that came before. Teachers need to be cognizant of the role they play in learners lives. They need to ensure that they are doing everything in their power to build those students tall and strong. Every living soul that passes through our doors belongs to us. Those that stand proud and strong as well as those who crumble and fall.