Which box? Changing ethos?

Another couple of posts...

Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 6:04pm
I think we have a great thing going with our topic. It is going to be great; we just have
to get it all together. Remember Dr. A said she does not want a term paper. I think she
just really wants us to think outside the box (which we are because not many teachers,
to my knowledge, use virtual labs) and do something, using technology, to improve
student achievement. I definitely think that is what we have! I know personally as a
teacher, I am finding some great stuff out there that I plan to use in my classroom that I
never would have done if it had not been for Dr. A making me think outside the box. I
have always been a lecture and sometimes a hands on teacher, but now I am going to
use a lot more hands on because after reading Pink's book I see how different this
generation is due to the technology that is at their fingertips. We have to change our
teaching strategies from lecture to discovery learning if we are going to reach this
generation and generations to come!


Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 6:42pm
I agree, we do have to make changes, but a change in "ethos" will have to take place for
people to really "see" what Pink is talking about. It is a total shift from the 19th century
models of education that serve to "mass-produce" good little American capitalists...learn,
make money, buy stuff, be a success...all that "good stuff." All ideas about objectives,
uni-directional instruction, and quantitative-comparative assessment come from some very
old and deeply ingrained ideas. Pink is right, but to change 100 plus years of
Progressive aftershock requires something more than we are giving it. Technology can
be a way just to "freshen-up" the same tired, boring, ineffective modes of
teaching/learning. What difference does it make if I see my teacher do it/hear her say it
or if I see it on the computer/read it from the computer if I am never asked to think
deeply? To make connections between ideas? To solve real world problems? To think
of others, to communicate and personalize the experience of others? To do something
that is good for society, for someone other than myself? I think the question we should
ask ourselves is not how we can use technology to improve teaching, but how can we
use teaching to improve technology or any area of our lives?

Until next time...