John Seely Brown
This presenter starts out by saying knowledge is personal; it is socially constructed. He also mentions something that was news to my ears. The best predictor of how well a student will do in college is his/her ability to form or join study groups. John also talks about the surfer boys who all became champions. He points out that the boys were able to succeed as a result of not being afraid to try and fail, and then try again. They also used technology which was very important for them to be able to improve their own skills and that of the other group members. Howard Gardner Gardner discusses his five minds; the disciplined mind, the synthesizing mind, the creative mind, the respectful mind and the ethical mind. He also mentions how the creative mind is not afraid of failure. He mentions how the ethical mind is not taken for what it is worth. In this day and age kids have very different ethical perspectives. He also touches on technology. Sir Ken Robinson He makes a few points. He also touches on the idea that children are not afraid of being wrong. He points out that if we are not prepared to be wrong we will never come up with anything original. He firmly believes that we are educating children out of their creativity. Daniel Pink Pink talks about the candle problem and how we need to think outside the box. As well as how incentives and punishments work for 20th century tasks that have a simple set of rules and a clear outcome, but rewards narrow our focus and destroy creativity. He mentions we need a new approach for 21st century learning which includes more intrinsic motivation. It is important to include autonomy, mastery and purpose. When I think about my own students and my previous experience within education, I realize that everything that I have been taught in the past, was definitely geared for 20th century learning. It was based on wanting success for students, with very little mistakes involved. Providing students with knowledge that they must use and show acquisition of their knowledge thought assessments whether it be class assessments, school assessments, or state assessments. Truly squashing children’s creativity and guiding them to doing things the same as all of the other students. It is only more recently that I have heard more of the notion of allowing students to be the drivers of their own knowledge. As all of the, speakers touched on, it is acceptable to make mistakes and fail at something, because only in that manner will original ideas come about! We need to truly educate our students as a whole being, not just parts of them. As an instructor/leader, I think we need to teach students that thinking outside the box is better that restricting yourself to thinking inside the box. If we think inside the box, there can only be one answer and one method for acquiring that answer. Yet, when we think outside the box, there night only be one answer, but varied ways of arriving at the answer. I think we need to teach out students that it is okay to make mistakes, and try again. Only in that way can we truly comprehend what we are learning.
5 Comments
Lisa Gottfried
11/6/2017 06:58:43 pm
"It is only more recently that I have heard more of the notion of allowing students to be the drivers of their own knowledge." What might that look like in your classroom? In what ways can you give students the freedom to think outside the box tomorrow? Juicy questions to ponder! Do we abandon assessments of knowledge or incorporate those assessments into a broader perspective?
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Helen Blood
11/7/2017 06:13:52 pm
Thank you Teresa for posting early. It really helped me to understand our assignment. Also I loved your summaries, they were accurate and succinct. I also agree about definitely being trained to teach in a 20th century manner. I would really like to see Markham change that mind set. I hope that through our PLC we can make some bold changes, I like you think it is crucial for our students.
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Emily
11/7/2017 09:32:38 pm
Like Helen, I am excited for Markham to move toward out-of-the-box thinking. I think some good came from the days of "all EDI, all the time." However, one drawback was that we modeled in-the-box thinking. There was only one way to present a lesson. Scripted curriculum turned teachers into interchangeable parts in the factory. I am excited that a new era is dawning with more room for creativity and 21st century skills.
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Stephanie Jones
11/7/2017 09:54:23 pm
I think the hardest part of all of this is letting go. What do you let go and how do you create a lesson or project that is meaningful and replaces the curriculum? I come from an era of teachers where we told to follow the curriculum and not stray. I still find it hard to let go and do more creative, hands on, standards based learning. Old habits are hard to break.
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Madeleine O'Rear
11/8/2017 04:32:39 pm
Hi Theresa! Your post made me think about the way I have been taught to teach, and the way I was taught. I am so glad that teaching is gradually moving in the direction of looking at children as real people with interests and passions. I love the ideas from this week about embracing creativity, and seeing creativity as crucial to thriving in the changing world.
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Teresa BarronI love teaching because it makes me a life long learner. Archives
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