What do you think the value of collaboration with the community outside your classroom would be? (feel free to scholar google it and refer to any research too....) Are there any draw backs? What considerations and concerns do you need to address when collaborating with the community?
I think that collaboration with the community enhances the students knowledge about what the learn in the classroom. It's always great to make connections with the outside world when we are teaching in a classroom. This strategy proves to the students that what we are teaching them can actually be applied. I always hated learning things in school that had nothing to do with my aspirations and dreams. Of course it's important to learn, just to be more knowledgeable, but I believe that students will learn better when connections are made to the real world.
It's not just students getting something out of collaboration with the community, though. I think that when professionals and people in the community connect with the students in a school, it's a chance for them to give back. These connections made within the community help relationships build, and create a network for job searches and internships. Everyone wins!
I would say that the drawback is time. It's obvious that collaboration with the community is a great thing! But people don't really do this, esp teachers, because it takes a great deal of time and effort. Everyone's busy with their own work and lives, so to have to make another commitment is tough. It's hard to match ups schedules, especially for classrooms as big as they are.
Everyone's had experiences with trying to get group members to meet up at the same time. It's extremely difficult!
But then again, the reward is greater...
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I totally forgot about time. It is funny when we are going to school we are in perfect land--where time doesn't matter its the experience. However, when we are working time is always going to be going against us. I believe there is a balance here that must be found!
ReplyDeleteNice point!
I must say I'd forgotten about time as well.
ReplyDeleteI must agree with Alice that getting students to relate the information we teach to the world at large
Yes I agree with you that students should be able to recognize what they're learning in school is something valuable and meaninful, so they don't think they are wasting their time in schools. Some students feel that what they learn in school will never be used in their lives after they graduate. However, we all know now that what we learn in school somehow encorporates into our daily lives when we read newspapers, talk with other people, and act as some common sense.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the role of the community giving back. The education that students receive is dependent very heavily on the community (for example, the education that students in small, very religious communities receive is very different than the education received in major cities). The best way a person in the community can play a role in students's education is to collaborate with them directly. It is the responsibility of the teacher to ensure that the information his/her students take the message from the outside collaboration, or else it is pointless and may actually hamper the lesson.
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