The problem today (according to Jason Fulford and Paul Sahrefor of Time Magazine) is not necessarily our instructional design, but our instructional emphasis. This quote really struck a similar chord with Merrill’s findings:
- “Teachers need not fear that they will be made obsolete. They will, however, feel increasing pressure to bring their methods--along with the curriculum--into line with the way the modern world works. That means putting a greater emphasis on teaching kids to collaborate and solve problems in small groups and apply what they've learned in the real world. Besides, research shows that kids learn better that way than with the old chalk-and-talk approach.” (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1568480,00.html)
The article’s timing coincided with a report called “Tough Choices or Tough Times” from the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workplace. Besides sounding like the modern day, “A Nation at Risk”, the magazine’s message gave me a very overwhelming feeling of being a hopeless nation making all the wrong moves. Will Richardson (Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom), in a blog regarding the magazine article and report, gave a more reassuring perspective:
- “I'm not clear on what a new model for education looks like (a la School2-0.org), but I do know the changes are more fundamental than what the summary of the report seems to suggest.”
http://www.districtadministration.com/pulse/commentpost.aspx?news=no&postid=18000
The option that Richardson suggests (through his book and blog), was briefly mentioned in the Time article, “How to Bring Our Students Out of the 20th Century”, but seemingly got lost in all of the despair. The “Read/Write Web” is a great educational tool to integrate collaborative and real world problem solving. Who knew that “web logging” could help our students keep up with other global powerhouses.
4 comments:
I agree with idea that students learn better in groups (I'm actually doing my thesis on cooperative learning). As far as emphasis on delivering instruction, I try to make the argument to cynics that students gain information through technology. Whether is is through searches, chat rooms or instant messages, students today gain their information in a far more different way than we did growing up.
In today's world, every single student will be required to collaborate and problem solve in the real world--no matter what they decide to do. While not all of our students will find a use for the quadratic equation or chemistry or the details of the War of 1821 after they graduate from high school or college, they will find a use for collaboration and problem solving. It only makes sense that our instruction is focused on those two skills.
You're right, when we listen to all the "experts" tell the American education system everything we're doing wrong, it seems hopeless. Thankfully, technology will help us overcome many of those deficiencies. It may not increase standardized test scores, but is has an incredible capability to increase students' ability to think critically, collaborate, and problem solve. The question is--how do we convince those who determine how funding is spent that blogging and other integrations of technology really are helping our kids "keep up with other global powerhouses?"
I am also in agreement that students learn well within a group setting. School is a social place for students and not allowiong them to be social can cause many types of learning and behavior problems. Using blogs, chat rooms, etc. is an amazing way to keep students in touch with the world while maintaining that social aspect they treasure. As far as articles and statistics telling us that education is heading for its demise, we can only do what we think is right in our classrooms and schools. Obviously we are taking the next step by being in this class, take comfort in that you are working toward a more successful future for our students!
Web 2.0 does promote those skills and we should begin using them little by little in our classrooms, even if we don't have the technology. For those students who have the tech at home, would it be alright for them to use to do their coursework (blog at home, etc.)?
-Dr. Fritz
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