Sunday, March 21, 2010
Reforming Education
I tend to agree with Robinson about certain things, especially the statement that the education system nowadays is like an assembly line. Every student takes certain classes and there is so much emphasis on standardized tests that students can become overwhelmed and wonder where they fit in. Some students just aren't built to succeed in this kind of environment. That is where we as educators can have a great impact especially in science where students can engage in hands on activities that reinforce ideas. Students may come to see that information that they get in the classroom can also be applied to the outside world. Being able to teach the same material in a variety of ways also may help students to become engaged and active learners. Just lecturing to a group is going to kill their enthusiasm so it is good to approach material in multiple ways. Letting students see that they can have fun and learn at the same time may motivate them and get them interested in a subject which could then allow them to find their true passion. The school system is so focused on scores and grades at this point that we as individual teachers may not be able to provide a reform to the system but we can start the reform inside our own classrooms.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yes, I agree with you! It is easy to focus on the negative, but we can make a world of difference by focusing on positive changes in our classrooms. For example, as teachers we can try to take some of the focus away from grades and "right" answers and focus more on the learning process. Also, as you said I think varying our teaching methods is crucial to reaching as many students as possible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you both! Our reform will come from the activities and enthusiasm we put into our own classrooms. It is not going to be a top down effect, like some may think reform should have. It is going to come from each teacher with each group of students with a variety of tasks and activities. I have found that even doing short teacher demos allow students an outlet to really visualize topics and grasp the content more securely.
ReplyDeleteGood point JP! We do need to focus on the positive aspects of our classroom. I have this one student in particular who has completely checked out, but I keep trying different activities to see if I can reach him. He loves to play video games so I've been trying to incorporate different computer games into my lessons and it seems to be working. And AG I'm glad you mentioned the visual learners because I am one and will not understand a topic until I "see it."
ReplyDeleteI agree that relating material and making students see how things apply to everyday life will help them understand the material. My question what to do with the information that you can't or is very hard to relate in that manner. So many of my students come into the classroom with the mindset that they "hate science" and "it's stupid" and I try to relate material to their everyday life but sometimes it is hard to make that connection.
ReplyDelete