In the second section of ANT1001 on Thu Sep 27th, we talked about the role of the teacher after someone shared that in their high school class there was a teacher who NEVER taught. This was brought up as an idea for group leadership in our discussions.
The teacher this student had made the students run discussions of assigned books and everything the entire class. Someone reacted saying "but then they are not doing their job!" I asked what is their job. The student said "to teach!"
After class I happen to seredipitously run across this on the web:
Awakener Award
for Innovative Leadership in Education
http://foundationforlearning.org/#awakeneraward
I am not a teacher, but an awakener.
-- Robert Frost
Interested in a world where teachers are awakeners? A world in which teacher is a title of honor given to someone around whom people open their eyes and see?
Many teachers already are awakeners. The work of the Foundation for Learning is to sing their praises, to foster the environments in which they emerge, and to put a spotlight on innovative teaching.
The Foundation for Learning is accepting nominations for the Awakener Award for innovative leadership in education. We are looking specifically for people whose innovations have spread beyond a single classroom, a single school, or a single school district.
Send your nominations to nominate@foundationforlearning.org or participate in the community discussions on this site.
The first recipient of the Awakener Award is Linda Inlay of River School in Napa, California, for her work on the Implicit Curriculum.
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6 comments:
Although I enjoy the idea of a class that fosters debate, this idea would only work in certain classroom environments.
I don't think that a "round-table" of calculus students debating on how to use the Power Rule with regards to derivatives, or simply coming together and having a frank, open discussion in biology on “what a cell is” would necessarily work. ;)
However, with courses that lean a bit more towards philosophy (literature, art, social science, etc…etc…), good public discourse is quite important.
It allows you to put your ideas “out there”, and see them agreed with and/or challenged. The challenge is (for me) the fun part, as defending your belief in something allows you to do one of two things. It will force you to dig deep within yourself; figuring out why it is you have this belief, or it will put that belief into question (sometimes a good thing!)
Off the soapbox! ☺
Anyone else?
Mel Silberman's (1996) Active Learning Credo sums it up this way (p. 1).
"What I hear, I forget.
What I hear and see, I remember a little.
What I hear, see and ask questions about
or discuss with someone else, I begin to understand
What I hear, see, discuss, and do, I acquire knowledge and skill.
What I teach to another, I master."
i have to disagree that the "round-table" calculus class doesn't work. I attended NYC Lab school for COLLABORATIVE studies so collaboration was evident in every class we had and it worked. In my calculus class my teahcer made us sit in small groups and from time to time we would have group activities when we solved problems as a group, which helped us to learn from our group members. Our teacher also did a lot of lecturing but we could always relly on our group members for support and further explanations of the subject. different group projects and activities also helped us all to deeper understand such intense and complex curriculum.
So i think that to a certain extent debate and group work can be progressive in any class but the teacher also has to be there to actually teach so there is balance.
Many teachers doesn't pay attention regarding on what students really need.I was raised in the french system and the relationships between students and teachers were really distant.I received a great education and it really helps me because i on't have any difficulties to follow the classes in college but i don't have any good souvenirs with my teachers whereas as soon as i arrived in this country all the teachers wanted to help me to get used to everything that is the main difference. I really think the relation between teachers and students is almost as important as the subjects studied
My name is Jou-Man Huang. I am from Taiwan. It used to be in our culture that teachers were ranked very high in social status. No one is supposed to question what they teach or say. Students are expected to sit and learn, and the classroom environment strongly discouraged “talking among each other” because Teachers are always right, and Students are most likely wrong. It was like that in my parents, and my older sister’s generation. By the time I entered into high school, our education system underwent transformation towards the Western way of teaching and learning. I remember I felt very awkward about doing a presentation in front of the classroom because it was impossible for me to view myself as a teacher. Sometimes the peer-to- peer teaching technique became very ineffective because student’s still feel that their knowledge and opinions are inferior to the teacher’s. It will take time to adjust and shed the notion of superior teacher status in my culture. Then the relationship between student and teacher will be more equal and interactive.
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