As some friends and I have been talking on my Facebook fanpage about how much grading and planning we're doing over Winter break, Chris Fancher shared his wish for teachers on the page which relates. While I don't agree that kids are "{products" I do know that I have to spend quite a bit of extra time to have any hope of considering myself a good teacher. It is a thought provoking read challenging us to be more. WE're all getting so much out of Twitter (many of us are) and the off-time things we're doing and sharing, so you might want to think about it and read his post. Chris says:
"My wish for 2013 is that the 2 or 3 teachers who read this go out and find someone on their campus who they can get together with outside of "normal" hours. Then these same teachers need to get on twitter and find a group of teachers who is on twitter at times they are on and are willing to interact and help with plans and ideas. Then these same teachers need to pick one day a week when they can devote to a twitter chat and start being an active participant.
My wish is that every student has a teacher who is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they are receiving the best education available. "
All these tools are technological with only the potential to be pedagogical… but they aren’t designed with pedagogy in mind.
Am I the only one who feels like a 30 hour day would still be too short?
Are there others out there who wonder what kind of commitment it will take for a teacher to be technologically savvy enough to meaningfully engage students with all these new tools?
Are we focusing too much on the tools and not enough on pedagogy?
Will educational structures change fast enough to provide our students with a relevant education?
… and for that matter… What would an ideal education look like today?
In my comment above I mentioned ‘pedagogical merit’ and to be honest, I have been on a bit of a focus in that direction recently. What I really mean by that is finding the right tools and structures for the right job in order to meaningfully enhance learning and engage learners.
‘Context‘ is where you start. ‘Scaffolding‘ is the structure(s) we build in order to increase the effectiveness of the technology use. ‘Pedagogy’ is the artful things we do to enhance learning regardless of technology use.
'Context' is where you start. 'Scaffolding' is the structure(s) we build in order to increase the effectiveness of the technology use. 'Pedagogy' is the artful things we do to enhance learning regardless of technology use.
There are many who don't understand this one point. I used to have someone who required me to have beautiful lesson plans. They were detailed. I spent more than an hour a day on them. So much time so that sometimes I felt unprepared when the kids actually walked in the door. When those detailed plans were removed and I was allowed to focus on the content created for the students to use and then keep a grid (I keep links, etc. to what I'm doing) - THAT Was when real innovation happened in my classroom. Things like wikis, blogs, etc. happened after those super-restrictive requirements were taken off my shoulders. I had the wrong audience when I had those detailed lesson plans - my audience was the principal at the time. Now, I still have plans but I keep it in a grid in a book and then keep copies of what I use with students in dropbox and other places. I do far more now than then because my focus is the students.
Lesson plans aren't bad. However, if you spend your time making the LESSON PLAN itself pretty and perfect then likely you're not spending your actual time PLANNING, printing, collecting, and creating what you'll be doing with your students. Also, when you do things like #geniushour and 20% time projects, you no longer have a lesson plan but a project plan which is an entirely different thing altogether. Don't fault teachers for this.
Teaching is the hardest job everybody thinks they can do and few really can.
Elizabeth Helfant from MICDS in St. Louis, MO has an amazing post outlining their school's transformation. Julie and I spent time there this summer giving them a "crash course" in flat classroom. The teachers are impressive as is the leadership of Eliza
Elizabeth Helfant outlines the changes at her school as they implement 1:1 laptops. The change and plans are comprehensive and stunning, from altering the work day and school year, to integration of technology.
There's even stuff for those that teach ELL students! What a great resource for those who like to use ITunes.
once. 35 mins
ago
I become crippled when expected to rant more than 300 characters. Damn you
Twitter. 36 mins
ago
@speters Good luck! 4 hrs ago
I totally just figured out @teach42 and his secret plans to conquer the
world. Nice touch. Looking forward to seeing this go public. 5 hrs ago
Or "Thank you for not unsubscribing!" Whatever the case may be. 21 hrs ago
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