What is Learning: According to this weeks theory learning is achieved if we use it in the context of real life activities. When learning is applicable to things you do in real life people learn better. I see this all the time when teaching computers. When you teach students features of the computer they may remember them for a few days. They remember them better when they are incorporated into a project.
How can learning be best effectuated by a teacher: In the video on John Abbot it talked about project based learning, collaboration, and apprenticeship in the classroom. I use all three in my classroom. Students will help each other even if you do not pair them up. Team activities are important, but I do not use them all the time. My project based activities are at the end of the unit which will cover the computer features used in the chapter. I demonstrate the features used in the chapter prior to starting the chapter. Starting a year ago I went back to doing the chapter exercise with the students as a class, and leave the end of chapter exercises as independent work. This bothers some students who are allowed to work on their own. I found that many students will follow along with me as we do the chapter work because they are either are not good readers, or unmotivated to do it if I leave it up to them. I do not know if this is best, but it does help many students stay up with the work. I assume this is like an apprenticeship.
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Toni
ReplyDeleteI teach my computer class in very much the same way you do and for the most part I think it has been very affective. Good job
I assume you are both talking about a Computer Technology class. I teach CTE Intro. For some units (Excel), I walk the students through the activities and we do them primarily as a class. For other units (MS Word) I have a packet of written instructions for them to follow. I think it's easier for me to walk them through the steps, but one of the things that I feel it is important for kids to learn is how to follow written instructions. In real life, they will rarely have someone to walk them through the steps to accomplish a task, it will be much more likely for them to have written instructions to follow.
ReplyDeleteMany good points! I think the idea that students remember things more when they use them in a practical, applied way (such as the projects you mention) is becoming quite a theme in our readings. I imagine many of us are already doing this, of course. It's nice to see you reflecting and experimenting with how you arrange your activities. For me, that's one of the most important things a teacher does, and I wish there were more time for this type of reflection. I got starting thinking about group work as I read your blog. Just like with anything, too much of even a good thing becomes a bad thing. Too much group work becomes a punishment for those who prefer individual work, for example, and also a crutch for those who like to lean on others. I guess what I concluded was that variety really is the spice of life. My best indicator has always been my own attention span, which isn't the longest. If I'm bored and frustrated with something, my students probably are, too, and it's time to mix things up again.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely, variety is crucial if for nothing else than to keep the students on their toes. what I mean is you don't want them to drag their feet to your class, you want them to wonder what they will be doing today.
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