Question 1. "Learning: From Speculation to Science" (Chapter 1: How People Learn)
In this cartoon (Mallard Fillmore, Aug 24, 2008), the author suggests that non-lecture activities are used by lazy teachers. Based upon what you read in the chapter, do you agree with this assessment? Using information from the chapter, formulate a response to the author that explains what you know about effective methods for teaching/learning.Question 2: "Learning: From Speculation to Science" (Chapter 1: How People Learn)
Using specific examples from the chapter, explain how current research knowledge about learning can help you meet at least TWO specific NETS-T.
16 comments:
Question 1: Comparing the cartoon to the chapter.
I would have to disagree with the cartoon. Students do not learn a whole lot through lecturing. It has been proven that students learn better through hands on projects, and projects that relate to real life. According to the chapter, "the goal of education is better conceived as helping students develop the intellectual tools and learning strategies needed to acquire knowledge that allows people to think productively.." the only way to allow students to think productively is through hands on experiences and through group discussions. You can learn a lot from each other. You can learn more from your fellow peers sometimes than you can from your teachers. It also states that students learn better from cultural norms. Therefore, you need to have activities that are relevant to real life experiences, this will help your students learn.
Question 1. "Learning: From Speculation to Science" (Chapter 1: How People Learn)
I disagree with this cartoon. Although certain modes of teaching can be abused (i.e. never lecturing), it is extremely important for educators to use a wide variety of teaching tactics. The reason this is so important is that there are a wide variety of intelligences and learning styles within a classroom and by using different teaching strategies as a classroom educator, one can reach a wider majority of the students.
-Visuals: media such as educational films may portray a lesson better than a lecture would, or can be used as supplementary or review to previous units
-Group/Peer learning: Sometimes students learn best among themselves; a peer may possibly be able to explain something to another in a more understandable way than possibly a teacher could. Students are able to learn and practice social skills, taking roles and responsibilities within a group and other valuable skills; for example the students that may be exceeding expectations can help and support their peers that need additional assistance.
-Student Feedback: It is important to let students lead classroom discussions at times. This allows the teacher to assess the progress of the classroom as a whole, provide support as well as provide the students with an opportunity to lead a discussion and find where it takes them. It may not go in the direction a teacher may have planned to go, but this can provide for new learning opportunities and is OK!
Lectures can sometimes be boring and dull, it is true. Sometimes lecturing IS necessary and should not be avoided overall. However, it is important to use a wide variety of teaching modes so that way visual and kinesthetic learners are not left out of the mix from constant lecturing, as well as those who are auditory learners who may be missing out on social interaction among peers.
Question 1. "Learning: From Speculation to Science" (Chapter 1: How People Learn
I strongly disagree with this cartoon. Teachers have the responsibility to teach all students. This requires using a variety of teaching methods, not only lecturing. Lecturing may be an effective way to give students specific information that they have to remember, but that information means nothing to the students unless they can apply it in a real-life situation. On page 9, the authors talk about "usable knowledge. Students may be able to regurgitate facts, but the facts mean nothing if the students do not understand them.
Teachers are responsible for so many things. They must assess all students' abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and prior knowledge; plan lessons and activities accordingly; carry them out; and assess students' learning and understanding. All of this is done virtually simultaneously. This cannot all be done if the teacher is lazy.
Question one:
I disagree with this cartoon. Teaching is so much more than the teacher lecturing. Active learning is such a big focus in schools, and that requires a student to do as it says, learn actively in an enviroment that can connect to previous knowledge within the student. If you are looking at it from a constructivists point of view, you don't lecture to the student directly, you let them "construct" some of that information themselves, and that isn't possible with continuous lectures. Also, the social and cultural aspects of learning are important, in the sense that students should interact and be involved with other students to increase those areas of learning. This isn't possible with direct lectures every class.
Question 1
As our nation is becoming more globalized our learning must follow. In the work force we do not use assembly lines any longer. In the past teachers, like the one in the cartoon, recited exactly what students (future assembly workers) needed to remember. However presently our day is looking for students who can question ideas, be creative, and use higher thinking skills.
In "Learning: From Speculation to Science" We are shown through many sighted studies that we have many types of learning and by using these skills children are more likely to succeed and excel in school. Learning with understanding, was discussed and I would like to go further and add without memorization. In schools our students are still being taught to memorize and regurgitate for the test. My sister was studying for a test about the various systems in our body such as; the respiratory system, the digestive system, and the circulatory system. My sister knew what each system involved but she could not explain to me how the systems worked together. This is an example of the old method of lecture and memorization. Now we need to teach information with added examples and higher thinking skills. In addition it has been proven and discussed in this book how students add to their schema knew knowledge and often student enter the classroom with preexisting ideas that may not be true. As teachers we must come up with many different teaching examples that involve more than just talking to clarify our points and add a greater understanding of the subject matter. Therefore I do not agree that teaching should be based on lectures only.
Question #1:
To me the implication of this cartoon is completely incorrect. While lectures are certainly one way to teach, I feel that hands on learning can be much more effective. Direct models, which in this case are used in the example of lectures, “stress individual work using traditional teaching and learning” (Roblyer, 2006 p.45) methods. On the other hand many hands on learning techniques such as group work and nontraditional exploration can be very beneficial. These methods are “designed to help students think on their own, work with diverse groups, and see the relevance of skills in their daily lives” (Roblyer, 2006 p.45). The use of these constructivist models can actually be more demanding on the part of the teacher. He or she must be ready to help students individually, create creative learning activeties, and direct them towards solving their problems.
I completely disagree with the cartoon. I feel that it takes more work, often, to create an environment where kids can explore and learn about a topic. It takes a lot of creativity to come up with ways for them to discover many things on their own. I feel it may be the opposite, and lecturing is sometimes the easiest way to get information to the students when a hands-on activity is the more effective way. I think that it also takes a higher level of classroom management skills, as the teacher has to be able to call the kids attention back at a moment's notice, and keep the kids productive individually. I think it is an important way to teach.
Question #1
What I know about effective methods for teaching/learning are you have to practice, help students learn to find and use information, also people learn by motivation.
Question #1:"Learning: From Speculation to Science"
From what I have learned so far in this course and from the readings, Mallard Filmore is misunderstanding his teachers. I have learned that dull dry lectures are not usually the best way to stimulate deep learning. Other activities that include interaction with others and also self directed learning facilitated by technology in the curriculum and classroom. Just because the teacher is using technology in the classroom does not mean he/she is lazy. If a teacher really wants to provide the students with deep learning, she/he is not just going to lecture the whole class. So basically I disagree with mallard filmore and his interpretation of his teachers.
Question 1:
I disagree with the cartoon. One of the first things that we learn, becoming educators is that everyone does not learn the same. There are at least seven, if not more, different learning styles and as educators, we need to apply all of them while teaching. In the chapter, it gives many different examples of different ways to allow students to learn with visuals, videos, readings, in groups, or a discussion. There isn't just one way to effectively learn, just as there isn't just one way to effectively teach.
I think a teacher could be classified as lazy if they didn't incorporate different ways of teaching. Integrated learning and integrated curriculum are very important aspects of education.
Question #1 “Learning: From Speculation To Science”
Using non-lecture activities does not mean the teacher is lazy. Students learn when they take an active role in what they are learning. When the teacher helps the students learn with and during the use of activities they build onto what they already have experienced and know. If students have misinformation the teacher shows them how to do something and what is wrong with the misinformation they previously had thus giving them a better understanding of the new information. This gives them new ways of thinking about things and new knowledge to draw from in the future. Students need to be actively learning by seeking to understand complex subject matter. They will be able to transfer what they have learned to new problems and settings. By only lecturing, students will only be able to use the information they have learned in that setting. The goal in learning is to be able to apply what they have learned in different settings and to different problems and to understand the knowledge in more complex ways. This gives them a deeper understanding of what they are trying to learn.
Question 1:
I disagree with the cartoon because I have learned that finding ways to be creative, and present information in different ways is time consuming for teachers. In the chapter it states that teachers should not only lecture information but they should find ways to help students connect information to something they understand and transfer knowledge to other contexts. Also if teachers just lectured every day, and did not reflect on what they taught they will not see if their students are understanding the information they are teaching. Teachers need to, "pay attention to the incomplete understandings, the false beliefs, and the naive renditions of concepts that learners bring with them to a given subject." Teachers need to build on the knowledge that students already have, which sometimes can not be done through lecture, because children need hands on activities, visual representation, and guidance from the teacher. Children also need to experience the opportunity to discover information on their own, and discover how they think. If teachers only lecture, students will never experience thinking for themselves and how to determine the level of cognition that they are at. Students need to be actively involved in learning to improve problem solving, and memory. Students need to be reflective in their learning in order to see where they are at, and continue to learn and grow.
Question 1:What do you know about effective methods for teaching/learning? This is a quote from the reading material: "A common misconception is that teachers should never tell students anything directly but, instead, should always allow them to construct knowledge for themselves." "Simply providing lectures frequently does not work. Nevertheless, there are times, usually after people have first grappled with issues on their own, that "teaching by telling" can work extremely well. However, teachers still need to pay attention to students' interpretations and provide guidance when necessary." The article goes on with an example of how teachers teach differently, yet use the same resources. The end results are very different, how the students have developed are very different, yet all of the students used the same tools. The cartoon suggests that teaching must not be inventive. I agree with the cartoon, if the teacher only uses films to occupy the students attention, and never discusses the reasoning behind the film/movie.
Question #1
I do not agree with this cartoon. I believe that teachers who use non-lecture activites are trying to help the students to understand the concept better. They use this type of activity because students learn differently. Some learn from doing and some learn from hearing. This type of activity makes it so that all students can learn about a concept no matter what way they learn. I believe that these kind of activities also allow the students to get deeper learning about the concept.
Question #1
I do not agree with this cartoon. I believe that teachers who use non-lecture activites are trying to help the students to understand the concept better. They use this type of activity because students learn differently. Some learn from doing and some learn from hearing. This type of activity makes it so that all students can learn about a concept no matter what way they learn. I believe that these kind of activities also allow the students to get deeper learning about the concept.
This cartoon is apparently based upon the "transfer of knowledge" theory of learning. If we learned simply by someone regurgitating their knowledge to us, then I would have to agree that it would be lazy for a teacher to "not do their job." However, the reality is that learning is done 100% by the learner. The teacher, to be most effective, must guide the learner into discovery. Obviously, a lecture does not automatically mean the students are paying attention and engaged, especially a "dull, dry" one. . . Lecture can be very powerful when it has a strong invitation for the students to engage. However, there are many ways to facilitate teaching. Obviously, the cartoon maximized on lazy examples as alternatives and inferred that they are the only alternatives. The most learning happens when the students are excited about the subject, which means they will be fully engaged and processing the information, and making their own inquiries and initiating their own research.
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