Caine’s Arcade is such an awesome story. This kid is amazing! I think what is so key about Caine’s story is that he was allowed the freedom to build. His father supported his idea in every way that he could. Caine felt empowered by his own ideas and his father encouraged Caine’s creativity. I feel that this video highlights the importance of allowing students freedom to choose. For example, providing students with several options for projects and assignments will allow them to feel empowered by their own thoughts and like Caine, students given freedom will be excited about the work that they produce. I want my students to take pride in their work and it is clear that Caine took pride in his. In addition to providing my students with choices, I will continue to show them how much I believe in their potential so that they understand that they are supported and that their ideas are valuable.
Seth Godin makes some very good points about school and the attitudes of students. He explains that from the beginning of the school day, students are asked to be obedient. From the first “Good morning, Mrs. So-and-So” to the end of the day when they pack up, push in their chairs, and wait quietly, students understand that they are to act right and follow the rules. I feel that Godin was trying to say that by placing students in this kind of obedient mentality, we are stifling their drive and creativity. Students do what they are told and usually not much else. What they learn in elementary about school and how it functions carries over to middle school and follows them to high school. Godin discussed memorization and explained that he feels it is a useless and deters student growth and excitement. I agree that the way memorization has been used in school teaches students to know things on a surface-level and does not teach them to reach for more. Memorization often strips any opportunity for critical thinking and problem solving.
Michael Wesch argues that as teachers it is our job to assist students to not only be knowledgeable, but to be knowledge-able. Wesch explains that in today's society it is not enough to be able to pass a multiple-choice test or to sit in a lecture hall without participating. The world is changing and it is time that education begins changing with it. I feel that Wesch is saying that our students need to acquire critical thinking skills and better questioning techniques. Instead of thinking about how much an assignment is worth or what will be on the test, students should be taking what they learn to a broader scale and be able to think outside of the four walls of their classroom. In order to help my students to become knowledge-able I will continue to incorporate group-worthy tasks and utilize group member roles so that each student's participation is valued. Also, I will work on my own questioning techniques. In doing so, I will serve as a model to my students and I will also push their minds further by presenting them with open-ended questions, extension questions, and always, always, always ask them to create viable arguments with appropriate evidence. The 8 Standards for Mathematical Practice provide a great set of goals for students in Mathematics classrooms and I feel that they closely align with Wesch's argument for knowledge-able students.
This video describes the difference between a “visitor” and a “resident” of the Internet. According to Dave White, a visitor is one who uses the Internet only when needed. He describes a visitor as someone rummaging through a toolbox. The visitor finds the tool, uses the tool, and then puts the toolbox away. On the other end of the continuum, a resident is one who shares their life with the Internet. They use the web as a big park where all residents are mingling. A resident leaves a trace of him or herself on the web, sort of a digital footprint. I feel that I am somewhere in the middle of the visitor-resident continuum, leaning more towards the resident end. I am using the Internet as a tool to create a brand for myself professionally. I understand that the Internet is a useful tool for building my career and growing as a professional. I do not feel like a full-fledged resident of the Internet because the sites that I use personally such as Facebook and Instagram are private and I have small circles of “friends” comprised of family members and close friends.
After reading "Why School?" by Will Richardson, I feel torn about the vision that Richardson has for education. I agree that education needs to change. I agree that the world as we know it is constantly changing and schools must constantly be changing along with it. I also agree that it is preferable for schools to be ahead of the technology curve, rather than behind it. Richardson writes that in one new educational vision “learning ceases to focus on consuming information or knowledge that’s no longer scarce. Instead, it’s about asking questions, working with others to find the answers, doing real work for real audiences, and adding to, not simply taking from, the storehouse of knowledge that the Web is becoming" (p. 43). Students truly do benefit from working with their peers in both small and large group settings. At my current school site, Vista Magnet Middle School, students work together at their table groups for the majority of each class period. They engage in meaningful discussions and in turn are developing mature communication skills. The reason why I am torn is because I feel that structure is necessary. I also feel that most students, given the opportunity, would not spend their time studying mathematics if it was not required of them. Although one can find Algebra and Geometry tutorial videos on the internet, that does not mean that they would access them willingly. As a math lover, this thought makes me nervous. I can recognize that technology replaces almost every daily mathematical need of the common man, such as calculating a tip and converting measurements. However, the person who programmed the software to make those calculations possible is a mathematician. Perhaps, if education changed as drastically as Richardson is suggesting, that mathematician may have never developed a love for math if he/she had not been exposed to it in a math classroom. Overall, I feel that Richardson makes a strong argument. The world is ever changing and the education system is falling behind.
Of the six Unlearning/Relearning ideas, I feel that I will have the easiest time committing to #2: Discover, don't deliver, the curriculum. In my K-12 education, curriculum was delivered to me. I must admit that when I first began learning about "discovering" mathematics, as an education technique, I was skeptical. I was not convinced that this could actually work. However, I've seen it! 6th grade students at VMMS used their knowledge about calculating the area of a rectangle to derive the formula for the area of a parallelogram. From parallelogram, they derived the formula for the area of a triangle, and finally, trapezoids. The students discovered patterns, tested theories, and created convincing arguments. As a teacher, I want to facilitate this type of learning in my classroom. I feel that I might struggle with #1: Share everything. The main reason that I feel I will struggle with this Unlearning/Relearning idea is simply because of time. I have no problem sharing my work with others and I enjoy collaborating with other teachers. However, I worry that I will not have time to keep up with the online community of teachers who post and share lessons frequently. This is a skill/goal that I will need to work towards. |
Megan AmelyMath enthusiast. Archives
April 2015
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