What I understand from the readings is that a clear goal has to be stated before planning to do anything. There is a need to know the destination before deciding which paths to take in order to get there. Paths because there should be more than one way to arrive at the destination. What I really liked was the idea of enduring understanding. Applying what has been learned to situations outside of the classroom is wonderful thing.This leads me think about a quote from one of the readings that stuck with me because of past experience. The following is the quote:
In fact, one thing that has always disturbed me is that kids tend to focus on their grades rather than their own learning. Perhaps the way I've used assessments- more for grading purposes than to document learning- has contributed somewhat to their attitude. (Understanding by Design, p.16)
I was a student that just focused on the grade. The reason for it is the fast pace, having to retain material and spit it back out without having any of your personal input. Freire's Banking Education is what comes to my mind: the idea of students being empty passive beings and teachers depositing facts into them and withdrawing the facts whenever needed to prove learning has happened. If learning was based more on reflection, rather than facts, then students would walkout with knowledge they could incorporate into their lives. Leaving a classroom with a B or A isn't the same as taking knowledge and applying it outside of a classroom.
I think about my own teaching and I want that A or B to really mean something. I want my students to really be able to apply the concepts learned in my class to their lives. The A or B should reflect actual learning that they can take beyond the classroom. I've been in ton of classes where the good grade doesn't mean much because I don't leave with anything useful, and I don't what my class to be the same way.
I definitely agree with what you are saying about worrying about the grade, but I am seeing it from the other spectrum. For me, getting a good grade was more of a competition than a personal goal, however, the same idea rings through, where I felt like I didn't always get to learn from what I was being taught. Sure, some things stuck in my head, but others I just tried to get through. I never saw the "big idea" in what I was learning, but rather the finish line to graduation. Sometimes I just hoped that I could just get through a class and be done with it, still hoping to get a good grade. I had never thought about what I was actually learning, especially when it felt like information was just being drilled into my head (like during my 11th grade AP Biology course - 25 chapters of a Biology textbook in one school year should be illegal!!). I definitely do not want my classroom to be, in the mathematical way, a "plug and chug." I want my students to really learn what they are doing and understanding why they are doing it.
ReplyDeleteI think getting the students to be conscious of what they are learning is key. I've never been one to think about my learning and only looked at the finish line too. I haven't had a pleasent experience with Biology either, it's too much work to cover. It's the only course in RIC I've had a C. This horrible way of teaching is even at the College level. Quality is always better than quantity. My question is how much of what we will teach will be controlled by standards? It's really creeping me out after reading your common core standards.
DeleteI love your first paragraph where you compared a lesson plan to a destination and that we need to use different "paths" to get there. This metaphor captures the whole idea of Understanding by Design. We, as teachers, need to set the destinations, but also guide students to take the paths that work best for them. Some students might take a path with a lot of hills and others might try to take a short cut. Crossing a river might not be a problem for some students, but for others it is a huge challenge!
ReplyDeleteThanks, what you just said got me thinking about the multiple intelligences we're going to be working with on Fridays class. It also ties to the Interest Inventories. I'm just thinking about good questions to ask to find out how the students best learn.
DeleteAdrian you are so right, it is crazy how similar our reactions to the reading were!! It feels nice to be on the same page. I only learned the first thing about Freire a few weeks ago, do you have any reading recommendations??
ReplyDeleteBesides what we have in common, what sticks out most to me in your post is when you say that in the messed up banking model students, "[withdraw] the facts whenever needed to prove learning has happened". In 407, we've been pushed to think about where we see learning in classroom, I believe to help get us past this idea that 'withdrawing' facts is appropriate evidence. I feel so hardwired to look at grades as learning, that I don't know what to look for! Your post and the readings are really emphasizing to me that assessment skills is something I need to work on.
The book Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation is a good read. I can tell you that the book opens your brain. Freire's ideas are in it. It makes you really reflect on the teaching profession and everything that influences it. If you want I can let you borrow it. I know you probably have a lot to read this semester so you can keep it as long as you please if you decide to borrow it from me.
DeleteI agree there is a need to concentrate more on skills rather than content facts because skills can be used in a variety of situations. It's not about what we know, it's about what we can do with it.
Adrian,
ReplyDeleteI like how you focus in on the idea that students often focus more on their grades rather then on their learning. I also am guilty of this in many past classes. I know from my own experiences that I often did this in classes where it was only a matter of memorizing some information for a test. I think this ties in with the idea that formal assessment such as tests and quizzes are not always the best way to motivate students to learn the material, rather then simply memorize it. I believe if we use informal assessment we can help students to get past "knowing" the information and help them apply the information in other ways.