While reading the articles assigned, it became more apparent to me the challenges teachers are facing today. As a child in school, my knowledge was limited to information I could research in an encyclopedia or a textbook. Today, children are bombarded with news and information from digital sources that are available right at their fingertips. This overload of information makes the task of keeping students engaged more difficult.
The article “A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep
learning” (Fullan & Langworthy, 2014) discusses the need for new pedagogies
to address this issue. These new pedagogies involve the use of the same digital
tools that have captured student’s attention.
It combines a student’s ability to learn and their ability to contribute
to their learning through using digital tools. By including these tools, it
allows students to take their new knowledge and immediately apply what they
have learned. How many times have you heard people say throughout the years,
“when am I ever going to use this in real life”? The ability to take something
that is taught and immediately apply it to a real-world problem will only
enhance that student’s ability to retain what is being taught. This, in turn,
will create more confidence to learn more. The more confidence a student has,
the further they will push themselves academically and as contributors to
society.
As outlined in “The Adoption Process” (Rogers, 1963), not
all students learn at the same level and with the same interest. Some students,
when allowed to contribute to their learning, will stand out as the leaders or
the “innovators”. These will be the students who will help bring new ideas to
the table and corral the other students who may be considered “late majority”
or “laggards” (Rogers, 1963) thus creating a new learning experience for
everyone.
The new approaches outlined in these articles come with
their own set of challenges because technology changes so quickly. However, I
agree we need to respond to the new culture we are living in and reach students
where they are. And since not all people are created the same, not all students
will learn the same. It’s time for a change.
Resources
Fullan,
M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A
rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. London: Pearson. Retrieved from
https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/global/Files/about-pearson/innovation/open-ideas/ARichSeamEnglish.pdf
Rogers,
E. M. (1963). The adoption
process II. Journal of Cooperative Extension, 1(2), 69-75. Retrieved from
http://www.joe.org/joe/1963summer/1963-2-a2.pdf
The need for new pedagogies to address today's educational challenges is a must. During the pandemic, in teaching virtually, I saw the need for new ideas for teaching today's students. The question is, "how do we engage students in a tech-savvy world?" I reflect on my high school years when we had to go to the library to write a paper. However, now students have the resources at their fingertips. Therefore, how do we raise the level of rigor when it comes to critical thinking? In addition, understanding that all students don’t learn on the same level will be key to changing teaching and learning pedagogies.
ReplyDeleteThe entire paragraph on the issues of the new pedagogies applies deeply to this generation. Student learn so much more when we are able to connect learning to real world experiences. When I was in school we didn't have the the opportunity to learn research skills, communication skills, and digital tools on the computers because we did not have access to one. Digital tools also provides another way for us as teachers to give each individual student what they need to produce active learners.
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