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Hello,
My name is Raquel Rudder and you are listening to the first episode of my EDL 621 podcast. For today’s episode I will reflect on chapter 5 of Tony Wagner’s book, The Global Achievement Gap, as well my 20% project for EDL 630. I will also share about how my thinking has been transformed both as a teacher and a person.
Chapter 5 from Tony Wagner’s book is titled, Motivating Today’s Students - and Tomorrow’s Workers. This chapter was very interesting to me. I felt alarm and a sense of urgency when reading about today’s new generation of workers and how they are not prepared for today’s jobs. The biggest problem is that they are not able to problem solve. Are these new workers simply products of NCLB? As I read chapter 5 I reflected on my own style of teaching and brainstormed immediate changes that I could implement in my own classroom in order to help my current students be better thinkers.
One very important theme that Wagner addresses in this chapter is Learning as Discovery. This type of learning goes along with the new school of teaching. In contrast to this new world, the old world of teaching relies on rote memorization in order to prove that students have mastered subject matter by administering standardized tests. But, studies have shown that students don’t really learn the material that is spoon fed to them but instead they forget it as soon as the test is over. Learning as Discovery does not have these poor learning outcomes. With the use of Learning as Discovery or Inquiry-based instruction students are able to take charge of their own learning and really internalize what they choose to learn about. The learning is more meaningful to them than simply memorizing.
Reflecting on my high school and college classes I do not remember too many times when I was allowed to take control of my learning and learn through a very meaningful project. For a lot of my classes I was simply expected to memorize terms and take tests. I have never been great at memorizing terms, especially on subjects that I do not have a high interest in. So, I struggled with some of these classes and resented the fact that I did. If only I had the opportunity to show the professor what I had learned on my own driven by my own curiosity.
For my EDL 630 class I was asked to complete a 20% project. It is a project of my choosing and must be something that I am passionate about. Before this week I believed that the project was unrelated to my class and simply something else to do. But this week the connection to Tony Wagner’s book has been highlighted for me. I was asked to create this project so that I can feel the motivation and passion that my students will feel when I assign them a project where they choose something that they are passionate about. I cannot wait to start. This year my students are already more opinionated, creative, and passionate than my class last year. They will love to practice Learning as Discovery.
As a person I see the value of practicing Learning as Discovery with my two boys. I hope to use this newfound way of teaching and learning when exposing them to the world around them. I recently watched a video titled Hackschooling Makes Me Happy Logan LaPlante at TEDx. In this video we meet Logan, a very smart, eloquent, and fun boy. I watched this video intently as Logan is a great model for what I would like my boys to someday be. Logan describes what hackschooling is. Basically it is a personalized education plan that he and the adults in his life have come up with. But, the best part is that Logan is in charge of his own learning. I want to be the kind of mother and teacher who has faith in my boys’ and my students’ ability to choose for themselves and allows them some autonomy when creating their own education plan. Welcome to the new school.
Thank you for listening.
Wagner, T. (2008). The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--And What We Can Do About It. New York, NY: Basic Books.
"Hackschooling makes me happy: Logan LaPlante at ..." 2013. 6 Oct. 2014 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY>
My name is Raquel Rudder and you are listening to the first episode of my EDL 621 podcast. For today’s episode I will reflect on chapter 5 of Tony Wagner’s book, The Global Achievement Gap, as well my 20% project for EDL 630. I will also share about how my thinking has been transformed both as a teacher and a person.
Chapter 5 from Tony Wagner’s book is titled, Motivating Today’s Students - and Tomorrow’s Workers. This chapter was very interesting to me. I felt alarm and a sense of urgency when reading about today’s new generation of workers and how they are not prepared for today’s jobs. The biggest problem is that they are not able to problem solve. Are these new workers simply products of NCLB? As I read chapter 5 I reflected on my own style of teaching and brainstormed immediate changes that I could implement in my own classroom in order to help my current students be better thinkers.
One very important theme that Wagner addresses in this chapter is Learning as Discovery. This type of learning goes along with the new school of teaching. In contrast to this new world, the old world of teaching relies on rote memorization in order to prove that students have mastered subject matter by administering standardized tests. But, studies have shown that students don’t really learn the material that is spoon fed to them but instead they forget it as soon as the test is over. Learning as Discovery does not have these poor learning outcomes. With the use of Learning as Discovery or Inquiry-based instruction students are able to take charge of their own learning and really internalize what they choose to learn about. The learning is more meaningful to them than simply memorizing.
Reflecting on my high school and college classes I do not remember too many times when I was allowed to take control of my learning and learn through a very meaningful project. For a lot of my classes I was simply expected to memorize terms and take tests. I have never been great at memorizing terms, especially on subjects that I do not have a high interest in. So, I struggled with some of these classes and resented the fact that I did. If only I had the opportunity to show the professor what I had learned on my own driven by my own curiosity.
For my EDL 630 class I was asked to complete a 20% project. It is a project of my choosing and must be something that I am passionate about. Before this week I believed that the project was unrelated to my class and simply something else to do. But this week the connection to Tony Wagner’s book has been highlighted for me. I was asked to create this project so that I can feel the motivation and passion that my students will feel when I assign them a project where they choose something that they are passionate about. I cannot wait to start. This year my students are already more opinionated, creative, and passionate than my class last year. They will love to practice Learning as Discovery.
As a person I see the value of practicing Learning as Discovery with my two boys. I hope to use this newfound way of teaching and learning when exposing them to the world around them. I recently watched a video titled Hackschooling Makes Me Happy Logan LaPlante at TEDx. In this video we meet Logan, a very smart, eloquent, and fun boy. I watched this video intently as Logan is a great model for what I would like my boys to someday be. Logan describes what hackschooling is. Basically it is a personalized education plan that he and the adults in his life have come up with. But, the best part is that Logan is in charge of his own learning. I want to be the kind of mother and teacher who has faith in my boys’ and my students’ ability to choose for themselves and allows them some autonomy when creating their own education plan. Welcome to the new school.
Thank you for listening.
Wagner, T. (2008). The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need--And What We Can Do About It. New York, NY: Basic Books.
"Hackschooling makes me happy: Logan LaPlante at ..." 2013. 6 Oct. 2014 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h11u3vtcpaY>