Thursday, October 28, 2010
Super Summarizer
Our posts have a common theme of needing to engage our students and make learning relevent. We are in agreement that traditional methods of education are limiting our students' potential to think and learn. On the first page of chapter 1, the author identifies the cognitive principle of the chapter: "People are naturally curious, but we are not naturally good thinkers; unless cognitive conditions are right, we will avoid thinking." I believe the book cover posts each reflect our belief that a we need to change the classroom environment as well as the way we approach teaching to effectively get our students be the thinkers and learners we know they can be.
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I agree to a degree that the traditional method of teaching may not reach all kids. Hasn't education always been like that though? Not all kids learn in the same way and we have to be flexible in our approach in order to affect all learners. New methods and approaches come along all the time and sometimes, at least in our school district, I think we latch on to new things just because they seem to be shiny and sexy, if you know what I mean. Sometimes the tried and true methods are effective.
ReplyDeleteThings change that's true. Newer methods to teach, better technology. If the changes are good use them. If they're not, stick with the methods that worked. Learning is always going to be a mystery. What works for one student doesn't always work for another. Will we ever be able to know what each individual needs in order to want to learn? I don't think we can know each student so well that we will be effective all the time. Hopefully, we use enough variety in our teaching approach to connect with them on occasion.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that. Things are always changing. New methods and philosophies are being discussed and researched. If something works, great, but we can't always just jump on the bandwagon and forget what has been successful in the past. We as teachers need to know our students and use a variety of strategies and teaching approaches in order to reach all learners. New strategies and technology is great to help do this, we just can't forget the techniques that were already successful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of you that we have to be careful in terms of jumping the bandwagon. I think that it is important that we also keep learning styles in mind. I strive to keep a balance in my classroom so that hopefully each student has an opportunity to feel challenged and therefore is engaged. With all of this technology coming forth how do we keep balance? Do all students embrace technology or are there some students who still embrace a more traditional learning style?
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