Well Denis missed some wonderful presentations. I hope both Gary and Denis are feeling better soon.
It was very interesting to hear the Kaiser report once again. The last time we discussed it was back at the beginning of the course, and I like to think that some of my opinions and thoughts have been shaped and molded since I read the report some time ago. Lana gave an interesting perspective on the report. When organizations are involved in big research studies I immediately become suspect. Like Mike pointed out in his previous post, I was surprised that the data suggested kids today are still just as active as the kids before media use was so prevalent. I see two trends at my school: kids who play every sport, and who are involved in everything; and kids who are not so active. Either way all of these kids have cell phones, i-pods and can multitask. I thought it was very insightful for Lana to give the example of the two students in her class and how they interact with technology. For one student he was able to benefit and get his work done when listening to music, and for another she was "rocking out" and could not get anything done. As a teacher it would be very hard to convince the individual kids of such differences, and it would be even harder to allow one kid to use the i-pod and another one not to use the ipod in the same class. I allow kids to use i-pods during silent study/work time. This study verifies for me that most kids can in fact multitask. At the same time students see media as primarily an entertainment device so we must be careful about the use of media in the classroom. It is a lot more fun to play a game on your i-pod than it is to use the calculator on it so it puts teachers in a difficult position. I am almost at the point where I will take the risk in my classroom and allow students to use i-pods and other wireless devices on a more consistent basis. All I need to do is trust them.
The e-learning presentation by Roman was equally interesting. The main point from this article as I see it is, e-learning will not take off until it is supported by faculty. These programs are more expensive to run than traditional classrooms, and they take more time to run. Why would someone knowingly sign on to something that will take more time out of their lives without being appropriately compensated? As a result, e-learning is only ever going to be popular and successful in the case where there is need; and the need is in rural areas that do not have the same educational opportunities of bigger centers.
Roland's presentation on 21st Century Skills was well done. The background into the American political structure was both informative and entertaining. As Roland pointed out the battle between the left and the right has been going on for a long time now. This battle is no different than the one that has been going on in mathematics: The traditional standards versus the reform standards. I am currently reading a book entitled Assessing Mathematical Proficiency by Alan H. Schoenfeld, and Schoenfeld cites several studies that assert that the chosen standards do make a difference:
Students who experienced skills-focused instruction tend to master relevant skills, but do not do well on tests of problem solving and conceptual understanding. Students who study more broad-based curricula tend to do reasonably well on tests of skills (that is, their performance on skills-oriented tests is not statistically different from the performance of students in skills-oriented courses), and they do much better than those students on assessments of conceptual understanding and problem solving. (pp. 63-64)
I agree with a lot of what the 21st document has to say, but it is not about creating new courses it is about infusing those ideas into our core curriculum. Reform based math calls for all of the skills that are in the 21st Century Document. Creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, flexibility, and leadership are a few of the skills that need to be stressed in our math classes. Students need to see math being used in appropriate contexts so that they can identify with the math and see it as something useful. Please click on the following link and read this quote by Schoenfeld:
In short, if you believe that mathematics is not supposed to make sense, and that working mathematics problems involves rather meaningless operations on symbols, you will produce nonsensical responses such as these. (p. 70)
Schoenfeld, A. H. (2007). Assessing Mathematical Proficiency. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
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Lana's comment on the two students was interesting, it just illustrates what we all know, people are different. What works with one may not with another. This book sounds interesting, Paul, I will have to get it. Great cartoon, it illustrates the point well.
ReplyDeleteVery nice Paul! Do you drink rootbeer? I too will check out that book by Schoenfeld.
ReplyDeleteIn the last couple of years, I have become more accommodating of students who like to listen to music while working. My students don't have iPods but listen on their computers - they all have laptops. They work, and if things get too loud, I pipe in with a turn it down or off. There's the old adage that teachers are not students' friends, but it doesn't hurt to create a positive working environment, however reasonably that be done.
Technology in rural parts is a big thing, really big. Declining enrolments, school closures, shrinking budgets, all of the above. Also, teachers in rural settings need to be generalists. In the last couple of years I have done some reading on rural education. In fact, I was seriously looking at how learning objects could make life better in rural schools, especially ones like mine. My school division uses IITV and Blackboard to deliver distance courses. Can you imagine receiving instruction by TV? I'll address this a little bit on Thursday in my TED.
The American military machine is relentless, isn't it? I think of the Schoffner article and the detailed standards, Winner and the threat of business conquering all, and now this policy rag 21st Century Skills. Hey, how about this for a book title, The New American Warrior: Teacher by Trade, Commander by Day. Whatta ya think?
I agree, Paul. There is a lot of useful suggestions in the 21st Century Learning document.
ReplyDeleteIn the Foxtrot comic strip (one of my favourite comic strips), the poor math student got all the wrong answers because his younger brother spilled rootbeer on his calculator. Clearly, he did not recognize his errors because of his lack of conceptual understanding of math. Who is more at fault, the student for relying too much on his calculator, or the teacher for having assigned such meaningless homework?
Schoenfeld's book sounds very interesting. I am curious if he examines how North American math curricula differs from other parts of the world such as Japan, where there is a high emphasis on skill-focused instruction.