week 6 relevance

I think the most important thing I have seen with the development of curriculum is relevance. We have seen in many ways how our systems are quickly becoming outdated as the information we are trying to implement is becoming less and less relevant. This can be seen in the structure of our educational system as well as the necessity and incorporation of 21st century skills. Technology is one of the primary aspects that drive our society today so the relevance is huge to progression of our students and the educational system as a whole. This is becoming more and more linked to the way we teach as well which is/ should be changing the way we “teach” to create a more relevant learning experience. Understanding the learner and the best way to create a relevant connection to them has proven to be the best way to effectively inform them of new information, whether directly or indirectly.

Most of the articles in this weeks reading related to making relevance for 21st century learners. The Facing History School appears to use the impact of humanities most adverse times to create relevance to today’s issues. By relating to our history we can then incorporate our own understanding to compare it to today’s social situations. Therefore, making history relevant to students of the 21st century. The article on Adolescence, Achievement, and Change in the Age of Obama spoke indirectly on the change of school relevance to our students. It mentions the view of importance of education for success and how having Obama as a president makes more possibilities achievable for minorities. Being able to create that connection whether psychological or literal has made a huge impact on the thought process of what is attainable particularly within minorities. This connects the relevance of having a good education to being able to achieve “anything”(i.e. becoming president).

The other article, which talked directly about relevance, was the one on Shaping Tech. for the Classroom. This was interesting as it used the state of Maine, as an example of the direction schools should be going. I think the outline was very helpful in clearing up what I think has been hard to distinguish. The incorporation of technology is not necessarily changing our teaching to be more relevant. Using technology to teach the “old thins in new ways” is certainly a stepping-stone to creating that connection to learners who are “digital natives”. Taking that next step of relating information in “new way” will certainly create more relevance. But, as the article pointed out, there is resistance to change, which is the heart of our educational system. There is also confusion as educators are behind in learning how to use these new tools as well. Change though is inevitable, and, the sooner the better as this digital age moves so fast we are already falling behind.

The idea of change to create relevance is certainly not new as seen in a couple of the other articles. Our system as it stands is flawed in the preparation of students for life after school in the 21st century. It is interesting to see how other models and ideas would change the structure to make it more suitable for today’s learners. I think Bostein’s view that we underestimate the student’s abilities, and this is connected to the student’s value of education is quite interesting. This is something, which can be seen in many schools as teachers often take the authoritative role and talk down to students. Conveying relevant information in a way that is not demeaning and in a way that speaks to students on the same level is important. The age of dictatorship in a classroom has passed and students need to be more and more in control of their own learning. This creates relevance and meaning to them, which in turn creates motivated learners. This is also mentioned in the article about 21st Century Scholars. Giving students responsibility is a highly motivational tool.

Off the relevance topic slightly, an interesting aspect to secondary education is the gap between high school and college. College is a totally different approach to education and the transition can be quite difficult. I think there should be more of an adaptation to college structure at the secondary level. Whether this means adding another year (LePage) or changing the structure completely there is definitely a need to adjust the process. Too many students get “lost in the crack” because there is not enough of a support system for them. I think a lot of high schools are offering college level classes now but I think more importantly they need to change the structure to create more responsibility similarly to the way college systems work. That is where relevance comes back into the situation.

Week 5 Impact of Technology

This was an interesting chapter in the book as it explains some of the changes that have happened and are happening to technological processes but seems to only offer suggestions to how to adapt to them. I think the point of technology being a change towards participatory culture was quite relevant. I think this is something we will need to instill in our learners that learning has to be self motivated and even self directed. With the seemingly endless supply of knowledge the "learning by doing" looks to be the direction for learning in the technological world. This world is constantly changing as well which makes the information and it's relevance fluid too. I think this is part of the "learning to know" which she refers to. I think there was a valid point made about this technology being more than the sum of it's parts. With students who only understand a world with all of these new features it is something that becomes hard to explain. Even more amazing is the continual change and development which will make it irrelevant in a few years. Even our own "learning to be" becomes difficult in this new social setting. I think our learners and ourselves are in a serious state of identity crisis within this technological space. It is certainly something we need to embrace to make it relevant to current trends and continue the use of relevant technology in our educational system. In reference to the commercial "to the cloud", another aspect of technological advance, we are in a cloud of knowledge. I think it is getting harder to see where we need to go. Something interesting to the semantics of the internet is the computer to compete on jeopardy next week. It will be interesting to see how "artifical intelligence" does. Hopefully it doesn't take our place.

Things that work well

Week 4 Things that work well in classrooms:

One of the biggest changes to the way I teach has been the use of a digital projector. This includes the use of the web. Having a student ask a question I don’t know and being able to find it almost instantly is such a great resource. The digital projector is invaluable tool for a visual education teacher. Not only do you have the projector aspects, which help to display images on a scale suitable for a class, but you also have almost unlimited options for imagery and instruction through the use of the web. Having this resource makes it much easier to find works of art, which reflect the medium, concept, or time being discussed. You can also then create relevance by looking at modern versions of the mediums and concepts. The opportunity to create more detailed instruction can be done through the use of multiple applications such as slide shows, movies, and even interactive creations.
Something, which is has particularly been successful for me, is the collaboration between teachers on a particular subject or event. Whenever a topic is discussed across disciplines it seems to create a more lasting effect. This is something, which has been discussed in this class already as a direction our curriculum should be working toward. It is almost like pooling our resources to create the best or most inclusive information presentation for our students. It also helps them make connections through the different particular subjects, which creates more meaning. It is something I would like to see even more of.
Another aspect I have seen to be very successful in a classroom is the collaboration between teachers and support staff such as Educational Technicians. Having the extra set of eyes, hands, and instructional support seems to really help within a specific group of students. There seems to be much more student engagement and productivity with the extra support.
Positive reinforcement also something I have seen which seems to be much more beneficial for students. By focusing on the positive aspects of what students are doing they don’t get caught up in or stuck with the things that aren’t working. Even if the positive aspects are not part of what the problem is trying to tackle it can be very helpful. Students particularly at a young age can “shut down” quickly. By using this positive reinforcement we can avoid them using this mechanism. This is more encouraging for them and because of that they continue working and still try to figure out the things they don’t understand. It also helps to create a stronger self-respect, which is also very important to their well being and success in school.
Something else I have seen to be successful is making students more responsible for their learning. I have recently worked in a middle school classroom where the assignments are given and then the teacher works with students at a center. This allows students who want help or want to make sure they are doing the work correctly to work with the teacher and students who aren’t going to do the work anyway are not distracting from them. It started off with only a handful of students working with the teacher. Now, almost all of the students are working with the teacher. This is particularly interesting as only a few of the students have much support from their parents to do well in the class. I don’t think this would work for every class but it seems to be working well in this one.