Curiosity and Creative Problem Solving -- Students are motivated by an innate sense of curiosity, and look for creative and innovative solutions to challenging problems. Students approach new or unfamiliar ideas from as many directions as possible.
Collaboration and Opportunities for Leadership -- Students have opportunities to work as part of a team, collaborating with people from a range of backgrounds. They collaborate with people to investigate new and different ideas. Students work to motivate and influence others in working toward a common goal. Critical Thinking and Open-Mindedness -- Students think deeply about new or unfamiliar ideas and opinions. They examine ideas from as many angles as possible, and are open to new experiences and ideas Drive and Initiative -- Students are driven to look for new opportunities, ideas and ways to analyze problems.. They take the initiative in seeking out activities that help them to learn. Effective Oral and Written Communication -- Students communicate their thoughts and express themselves effectively, orally and in writing. They communicate with members of their own own school community as well as with local, national, and global communities. Accessing and Analyzing Information -- Students gather information from multiple sources, and think critically about the sources of information available. Responsible Use of Technology -- Students use technology responsibly, ethically, and productively. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown
Reflecting on Chapters 1-3 Chapter 1: Arc-of-Life Learning Quote: “The new culture of learning gives us the freedom to make the general personal and then share our personal experience in a way that, in turn, adds to the general flow of knowledge.” (p. 31) I like the word freedom in this quote. The idea that knowledge isn’t pre-determined, but is something learners should be free to explore, and then add to the collective experience. Question: How can we capitalize on the passions of our students to make learning fun again? Connection: The cultivation of my PLN has opened up a new learning community for me. There are some teachers on my site who share my passion for technology, but there are multitudes that share it on the web. I have gained access to resources and ideas through this community that I would not find at my school site. Epiphany: We are missing a great opportunity by not tapping into the creativity and imagination and play of our students. Chapter 2: A Tale of Two Cultures Quote: “The goal is for each of us to take the world in and make it a part of ourselves …” so “we can re-recreate it.” (p. 38.) This chapter speaks about learning in an environment that responds to its surrounds and “thrives on change” (p. 37) so it is constantly being re-created. Question: What needs to happen to adapt our curriculum so we are giving students to figure out "novel solutions"? (page 35 Connection: Working on my 20% project I have been “learning through engagement within the world” (p. 38) by reaching out to Twitter, Google+ communities, and curating a Diigo research list. Epiphany: Instead of providing questions with pre-determined answers to our students, we should ask encourage our students to ask questions, and ask them because they want to know more. Chapter 3: Embracing Change Quote: “As information is constantly produced, consumed, updated, and altered, new practices of reading, writing, thinking, and learning have evolved with it.” (p. 42) I think this idea is important because it recognizes the impact technology has had on what we know, and how important it is to change our teaching practices to reflect that. Question: What is the best way to communicate this idea to veteran teachers? How do we encourage them to “embrace change, not fight(ing) it.”? (page 43) Connection: I loved this quote by Heraclitus (p. 39): “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” I think the peer interaction component of EDL 630 has affected the river I’m stepping into. By getting feedback, and a glimpse into the work of others (stepping into the river), I’m affected and changed (I’m not the same (wo)man.) Epiphany: The idea that memorization can be a valuable technique (for things that seldom change), but we ask students to memorize things they “don’t actually use very often in their day-to-day lives.” (page 44) Adapted from Tony Wagner's 7 survival skills:
My commitment this year will be to look for ways to make my students conscious of these survival skills, and give them opportunities to try them out in a variety of ways throughout the school year. How to measure success ... that's a good question! I'm open to suggestions!! Motivating Today's Students -- and Tomorrow's WorkersI think John Seely Brown's quote really grounds this chapter of Wagner's work. He says, "...we're just beginning to see the full effect of the World Wide Web and other technologies on our lives -- and most especially on the lives of the young people who've grown up with new and radically different communication, information, and creativity tools." (page 171). As educators we MUST take note of the fact that today's students are coming to school with a completely new and different set of experiences and expectations. Wagner suggests looking at how kids learn today to influence our practice, specifically learning through multimedia and connection to others, learning as discovery, and learning by creating.
Reinventing the Education ProfessionPage 156: "Teachers and administrators, working alone all day every day, cannot possibly meet the new demands for improvements that are being thrust upon them with increasing urgency from all sides."
Page 166: "Focusing teaching and learning on the new survival skills, having better tests that assess the skills that matter most, and reinventing how we prepare educators, as well as how they work together, are all necessary if we are serious about eliminating the global achievement gap." I feel that demand for improvement every single year. Some of it I put on myself, and I think that's healthy. I think self-reflection is important, and adapting my practice based on what I'm seeing from my students helps me to get better (in some ways) at what I'm doing. Some of it comes from my administrator and my district, with "mandates" and professional development based on what is considered to be the next best thing in education. Some of the demand comes from what I hear in the media, and the messages from society that we in public education are not doing a very good job. And yet I walk into my classroom every day and work alone pretty much every day, trying to meet those demands, trying to reflect and adapt and improve. I think Wagner is right when he says we need to stop working in isolation if we're going to truly reform education. Will society make the necessary investment to make that happen? I like his focus in this chapter, also, on the need to take a closer look at how educators (and administrators) are being prepared. I always feel for the new teachers who walk in the door that first week of school not really knowing what to expect. It's not the type of career that can truly be prepared for by sitting in a classroom. I think the ideal would be for new teachers to work side-by-side with more experienced teachers for a year or two, easing into the reality of managing a classroom on their own. Again, it comes down to an increased investment in education. But what better investment can we as a society be making? Tony Wagner asks two significant questions about "high-stakes" standardized tests:
(1) To what extent do these state tests assess the skills that matter most for work, citizenship, and college? (2) What is the impact of teaching to these tests on students' motivation to learn and to stay in school? (pages 90-91) These are especially pertinent questions when considering how little standardized tests address his seven survival skills: professionalism and work ethic, oral and written communication, critical thinking and problem solving, teamwork and leadership, reading comprehension, and ethics and social responsibility. (pages 92-21) I have been giving standardized tests for a very long time, and I have become increasingly frustrated by the amount of time we (teachers) are expected to spend preparing students for the tests. It is especially aggravating because the results of the test do not enhance teaching because we don't receive the scores until those students that we tested have moved on to the next grade level. So instead of providing learning opportunities full of rigor we are spending time hoping students will memorize facts, or be savvy enough to eliminate enough choices to narrow down possible answers to the correct one. It is not higher level thinking, which is really the skill students needs to develop to be prepared for a challenging college level course or a fulfilling career. Wagner's second question, about the effect of this high stress testing environment on student motivation, is on target as well. Where is the motivation in learning isolated facts with no connection to what really matters to students. And even worse, what are we doing to the motivational level of students who "fail" the tests year after year? Why should they continue going to school, or participate in class when the results are so negative? I agree with Wagner that "In today's world, it's no longer how much you know that matters; it's what you can do with what you know." (page 111). I am hopeful that with the advent of the common core standards and the changes being made to standardized testing that we are beginning to transition to a learning experience for students that will prepare them for the future in better ways than we have in the past. But I fear that society's need for "accountability" will throw roadblocks in the way. I'll check back in after I give the SBAC in May! |
Dena HauseMom, Wife, Educator, Student Archives
December 2014
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