I've been in college for 3 years now and I've only had one class that embraces the new teaching methods Dan Brown and Morgan Bayda. Even my online classes have not embraced the methods they talked about. I've really only seen this in EDM310. It is important that teachers understand the world of education is changing. Many teachers on campus still don't allow laptops in there class. I used to take my ipod touch to class and google anything I didn't understand and get my answers instantly. Teachers should find ways to incorporate such new technologies. Why not involve the students more? I hate so much to go to class and have to watch the same old powerpoint and listen to the same old lecture. It is time to make changes. Let students answer questions based on findings from the internet and allow them to participate in the information supplying.
2. Tom Johnson's Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home!
I have so much discontent for "drill and kill tests." Standardized exams has become the central focus point of the entire school system. Teachers don't focus on actually being sure the students are learning and understand what they are learning. Everything is "this will be on you CRT, SAT, ACT, etc." All I hear from class rooms are test scores and standardized testing. Why not focus on what the children are learning, not what they scored. I've never felt the standardized tests formed by the school board who isn't in the classrooms with the students was a true measure of the children's learning.
This form of schooling doesn't factor in students who are very intelligent but don't test well. One grade at the end of the quarter/semester shouldn't determine how much they have learned. Then we see school funding cut because of lower test scores which only hurts the system more. The teachers are told to only focus on what is on the test and be sure to drill it into the students leaving no room for anything else. At this point you lose important elements that make a good teacher great! It completely removes the freedom in learning and teaching, which ironically is when the best learning takes place.
Hey Christina,
ReplyDeleteThat is a great thing that you do when you don't understand something. You Google it online, and try to understand the subject more fully. That is an example of one reason why we should use this type of learning!
From Dr. Strange: It seems that you did not understand that Tom Johnspn's post Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home was a metaphor in which pencils were computers. I will complete my post Metaphors: What They Are and Why We Use Them (A Learning Opportunity) later this week. After this post appears on the Class Blog you will be required to leave a comment. Watch the Class Blog for further instructions.