Russ Cole
Chapter 4 Reflection
Dr. Cullen
Chapter 4 Reflection
Dr. Cullen
Teachers
are technological immigrants while students are natives to a strange and far
away land. Could things possibly be worse? From the perspective of the text,
things could not possibly be better. Instructors should encourage students to
explain current technologies to them (even if the instructor is already familiar)
to encourage the student and possibly benefit the teacher.
Technology
has many possible applications, currently uniting the entire world through the
internet. Your class can share positive interactions with someone next door or
even strong constructive interactions with someone currently across the globe
and anywhere in between. Technology can be used to allow students to interact
with and learn from people with far greater and far different skills from their
current teacher which promotes new experiences.
Interacting
with professionals provides an excellent opportunity for children to learn from
someone with knowledge that they have likely never encountered. Such
opportunities promote growth in ways that can be difficult to find in the
otherwise secluded classroom, and can be accessed more easily now than ever
before
Along
with working with students, teachers can work together, learning from each
others’ strengths and building strong relationships as well as new
opportunities for their students to learn. Teachers may have trouble knowing
each other’s unique talents due to the solitary nature of their jobs, but such
projects provide opportunities for everyone to learn.
I have
encountered and even grew up as a part of a school system in which teachers
were effective colleagues and worked well together to encourage their students
to be at their best. Such a system was incredibly effective at teaching the
students within it and even reached several students outside of it. This is the
kind of instructor that I would hope to be if given the opportunity.
I have
also seen the advantages, both in school and Sunday school, of bringing in
people from the field and the powerful impact that has when the student can
say, undoubtedly, that something they learned about is a real and impactful
force in the world. I am often surprised that it makes such a difference, but
am a strong believer at this point in my life, and fully plan to have
interactions with the professional contacts which I have maintained from my
undergrad studies. Students do benefit from talking with, being questioned by
and edited by people from outside the classroom, especially those individuals
who they deem to be professionals.
Lastly,
I believe in encouraging students by allowing them to teach us. Some of my most
positive experiences from high school involved the few times that someone paid
attention to something I had done on my own or asked for my assistance. Such
experiences reassured me of my value and I can only hope that my attitude,
actions and words can say this to my students. If I have the opportunity to
actually learn something new out of it, which will likely be more often than
not, then this is certainly a fine bonus.
It always amazes me that in a university town there is not a stronger professional outreach to the local schools. I work with a number of local science teachers and it doesn't seem to occur to them to call departments to send faculty and students to help them with certain lessons.
ReplyDeleteI know that teachers are incredibly busy and under a myriad of pressures, but even when departments explicitly offer outreach, only a few respond.
How can we continue to encourage these interactions between classrooms and professionals?
That is an excellent question. I believe the first response is to understand exactly what you said. Instructors are busy and often time constrained by their curriculum. The outreach may not be convenient to them and they do have a right to reject.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit depressing, I know, but we have to understand that.
Then we have to realize that most programs would probably do best to partner with an instructor and build a reliable relationship that both instructor and professional can come to trust. From this perspective, these opportunities would become much more like mentor/mentee relationships that would be long lasting and deeply constructive for everyone involved, especially the students.
After this, those classroom opportunities will likely become an essential part of such a relationship, not just a nice opportunity.
As a prospective instructor, I hope to keep as many of my local friends involved with my classroom as possible. I feel they will be much more tempted to be involved with the classroom when I consider their inclusion a primary objective and of deep benefit to my students.
Today's world of teaching is definitely changing. Now, students have the power to learn on their own while, at times, playing the teacher role when it comes to teaching their instructors about technology and how it works. I do not necessarily believe this is bad, because I believe we can all learn from each other by communicating. I still believe teachers should hold more authority, however it should be allowed for their students to contribute too.
ReplyDeleteTeachers need more answers to the question, "How will I use this in my life?" With outreach from universities and experts in the field teachers can answer this question with more than "You are learning critical thinking skills." When students feel that what they are learning does not apply to them they take no ownership in their work.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that with the increase in use of technology it would be appropriate for students or a class to communicate with professionals using skype or something similar?