The video Deep Learning: An Interview with Elena Aguilar was provocative. Given the fact that research supports learning through integrating studies and different modalities, translation of this is not evident in the classroom. Ms. Aguilar stated that there are some socio-economic groups who do not learn well from 50-minutes of reading in a textbook and class lectures. While integrating studies and using different modalities is more complicated and time-consuming, it is well worth it if students are being challenged to improve their comprehension and retention of material.
Ms. Aguilar addressed several key issues plaguing new teachers. In response to those issues, she suggested that teachers make instruction as authentic and connected to the students' "real-life" as possible. I thought it was interesting that Ms. Aguilar did not "knock" standards; she believes that you can meet standards and the needs of your individual students, respectively. She did not, however, sugar-coat the fact that it will take hard work and dedication, and that we must first understand the curriculum and standards. She advised that we should make small steps (poems, guest speakers). Another good idea that was suggested from the video is to make connections with colleagues and think about it as a long-term goal to prevent frustration.
The video was dead on it, in my view. I do not think that we should continue to spin our wheels over having too many standards to meet, but expend that energy into designing exemplary lessons. I also think that teachers need to take a more active role in selecting textbooks and technology. There has to be a happy medium; we just need to explore ways of finding it.
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4 comments:
Tewanna, it sounds like the video was really good. Mrs. aguilara makes a lot of sense when she says not all students benifit by reading a text book for fifty minutes. I think she's right about learning needing to be as close to their everyday lives as possible.
On your recommendation, I went and watched this video, and I agree it was excellent. In the end, as you mention, Ms. Aguilar says that new teachers interested in making their classrooms more interdisciplinary ought to take small steps, and I would piggy-back off of that and say this: as a new teacher, you may eventually wish to do things differently from the status quo. You may probably find that the status quo cannot cut it for many of your students. So, whatever changes you hope to make, it's okay to implement them slowly (whether it's integrating content area, integrating technology, implementing problem-based learning, etc.)
I did not get to see that video but it sound like it was great. Might I suggest going and checking out the one I viewed for my final post. I think that we have start out in small steps to keep or sanity and jobs, but eventually for the benefit of the students we have to challenge the same ole same ole of they will never get anything out of the lesson. As for students from the low socieconomic backgrounds and then ESL students if we can make it more real from them they I believe the learning will be a lot more real for them than a textbook reading.
standards are indeed a very sensitive subject right now. I have seen that a classroom can operate just as well with out them. However, we do need some form of a "standard" to meet, maybe not in the form of the GPS or NETS, but at least a goal. I personally do not think that standards are the solution to our problems.
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