For my first ED Tech post I'll give you an introduction to some of what I believe about teaching and learning. The first rule of teaching and learning is that the students always outnumber the teachers. If you view the education process as an "us versus them" activity (and I strongly advise you not the view the process this way) you should immediately be warned that the teacher will not win with fear and force alone... think General Custer at Little Big Horn. Therefore, other methods of survival in the classroom must be developed. I am an advocate of using your strengths to overcome your weaknesses. We all have both. If you a funny person, use humor, if you a quiet person use guile and stealth, if you bluster temper your attitude with kindness. More to the point of this course if you are not a techie become a co-learner with students. Although tradition has it that teachers have all the answers this truism turns out to be an old wives tale. Teachers do not have all the answers now nor did they in the good old days when you were in school. Kids have always known stuff that teachers did not and neither teacher nor student have all the answers. Sometimes it takes a classroom to find an answer.
I will post random thoughts on technology, teaching and learning every week on this blog. I encourage your reactions, thoughts, comments, agree/disagree votes by clicking on the blue no comments/comments word(s) below and leaving me a message.
+ I agree with the statement that teachers and students do not have all the answers. After all what purpose would learning serve? I also agree that collectively using different modes of technology and learning styles can help students and teachers alike learn and become intrigued.
ReplyDelete+ In one of my previous education classes here at Otterbein, I heard the phrase, "teachers should be a guide on the side, not a sage on the stage". I thoroughly believe in this statement, because it displays that teachers are not the know-it-all. Instead, we are to be learning with/from our students, helping them with the learning process along the way. Any answers that we or our students do not know we should encourage further investigation to discover the answer.
ReplyDelete+ Not only as teachers should we be ourselves and show our strengths in the classroom but we should put our students in positions to displays their strengths. When students can recognize their strengths and use them it will boost self-esteem and confidence among peers. If as a teacher you cannot be yourself, then how can you expect your students to be themselves in your classroom?
+ I totally agree. Although teachers should have more wisdom from past experiences, they dont have the newer knowledge that young generations are obtaining as the grow. For example, technology! So staying in tune and connected with your students is a big part of you being the best teacher you can be.
ReplyDelete+ I will definitely be a co-learner with my students when it comes to technology and I think the students will enjoy helping me learn new things as well.
ReplyDelete+ I think I will be an effective teacher if I am able to use my humor with the kids. I had not thought of that before.
+ I agree that teachers do not always have the answer to everything. Teachers have to learn new things all the time in order to stay informed about the current technology and information that they need to teach their students.I think it is important for students to see that their teachers are also learners along with them.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your statement about how teachers do not know everything. I really dislike it when a teacher enters the classroom with a huge ego because they are in charge. Students do learn new information from teachers, but teachers can also learn new material from students.
ReplyDelete+ I agree that teachers must use their strengths to overcome their weaknesses. Every teacher possesses different strengths and how cool is it that we can use one another's ideas in our own classrooms someday. I also like the statement "sometimes it takes a classroom to find an answer." A sense of community forms when a teacher as well as their students work together to find an answer.
ReplyDelete+ I very much agree with your statement that teachers and students do not have all the answers and that kids know things that teachers do not know. Your are so right that it takes the whole classroom to find the answer not just one person. Along with this I also agree that using strengths in that classroom is a great way to survive through your weaknesses. For me this would definitely be using my sense of humor in the classroom as well as kind words to the students in my classroom.
ReplyDelete+I know I'm definitely going to be a co-learner with my students when it comes to technology. My little brothers are 10 and 11 years old and they amaze me with all the things they know how to do online, on their phones, etc. I was pretty shocked to discover they have their own youtube channel where they make videos using night vision (how?) and special effects. Even though I'm only a decade older than them they were raised in a completely different world, so we as teachers have to realize that many of our kids are going to be 'fluent' in technology.
ReplyDelete+ I strongly agree with being a co-learner with the students on technology. Technology changes everyday and teachers won't have all of the answers to new technology problems and will have to rely on students to help find a solution to a particular technology problem.
ReplyDelete+ I agree that in every classroom, a teacher should use his or her strengths to overpower weaknesses that they may have. It might also turn out that by using these strengths, it will be beneficial to some of the students who are also strong in this area as well. However, it may also be important to try teaching in ways that aren't as easy for a teacher so that they can become stronger in that area as well.
ReplyDelete+ I agree with the part about how teachers and students do not always have the answers. I firmly believe that the relationship between teachers and students should more like a team.
ReplyDelete+ I agree that students and teachers must act as teammates in the classroom. Although there are many students and only one teacher the classroom must be a place of mutual respect between the two to accomplish what needs to get done.
ReplyDelete+ I agree that in classrooms teachers and students must act as one and use their strengths to help others along the journey. One persons strengths could be someone else's weakness and it could help that person grow.
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ReplyDelete+ I agree that the teacher needs to work with the students. I feel as though kids have an upper hand in technology and we can actually learn from them! Working together will make for a happier classroom.
ReplyDelete+ I agree. The second a teacher is no longer willing to learn they should also not be allowed to teach more. Unless you are willing to grow, learn and change as a teacher you can't hope that you will have students who want to do these things when you seem to be so set in your ways. The best teachers I ever had were willing to admit mistakes and learn from/with the students.
ReplyDelete+ I think the most exciting thing about the prospect of teaching is the opportunity to learn. I believe I will learn MORE from my students than they will from me. I'm not saying my students won't learn in my classroom, because I expect them to, and have high standards for them, but I believe that the students will teach me just as much if not more. I want to encourage my students to bounce ideas of each other and me so we can create a learning community dedicated to enriching everyone's mind and give everyone the chance to do so.
ReplyDelete+ I agree that the teacher does not know everything and the students can know things that the teacher does not know, so the teacher can learn from the student too. One time when I was playing a math game with a 7th grader that I tutor, she beat me a few times because she was able to find a better solution to the problem than I could. I also agree that working together with them rather than try to force them to do what you want is a better idea and will cause more learning to happen.
ReplyDelete+ I definitely agree that we are outnumbered in the classroom. I feel like it is rare for our students to think this way. I think using your personality strengths to make up for your weaknesses is a wonderful way to run your classroom. I also think that a classroom is a learning environment for both the teacher and the student. If we go into a classroom with the mindset that we are superior and will be able to answer every question, we will ultimately fail. I think that when students ask questions that we do not know the answer to, it is alright to admit this. They want to know we are not perfect, and this will allow for us to build a trusting classroom environment. When it comes to technology in particular, the youth are always going to be able to "one up us", so why not use this to our advantage? Look for insight about new ways to incorporate technology in your classroom by allowing your students to have a voice.
ReplyDeleteI like how you said we should use our strengths as people in the classroom. I am hopefully as funny as I think I am and will be using that to help get children to pay attention and want to be in the classroom. I am pretty good with technology but I feel like I don't know what I could do with technology in the classroom as well as I should so I am excited to learn how to get technology in the classroom!
ReplyDeleteHumor has save many a misguided lesson in my career... it's better to laugh at yourself than having your kids laugh at you behind your back.
DeleteI agree with the main idea that no one is perfect in this world. We both have advantages and disadvantages. Confucius said that when I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them. So is the good relationship between teachers and students, I think. Although as teacher, we teach our knowledge to our students, sometimes we also learn something from them. For example, they are younger than us, they have more fashionable ideas.
ReplyDeleteThe American counterpart to Confucius was Mark Twain, he said something like, " We all serve, even if only as a bad example."
Delete+ I agree with your point that if you do not have all the answers, learn along with the students! I think that often teachers believe that because they are the teacher, they should have all of the answers. Similarly, students expect that the teacher should be all knowing. However, I think that it is very powerful for a teacher to be able to tell a class of students that he or she does not know the answer to their question, yet we can find out the answer together. I think that this teaches students more than that you simply don't know the answer. Instead, it shows students that no one knows everything, nor will they ever. However, we all continue to learn new things all of the time throughout our lives.
ReplyDelete+ I like how you said teachers don't know everything. While it seems obvious I remember as a student how I often thought that teacher knew everything. You may have not even liked the teacher but you were usually left with a open jaw when they didn't know an answer. Kids are diverse and their ideas about how the world works will be just as diverse as they are. The biggest thing I see through that is that even though they will easily be able to throw curve balls our way, we need to be prepared how to answer them. This won't always be with the correct answer. Understanding how kids think about the world will help us a teacher better design a classroom that works for the student in better ways.
ReplyDelete+ I agree with the statement that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. And that we should play up our strengths to help us in our classroom. I remember thinking when I was in Elementary School that my teachers knew everything and had all the answers. I soon realized that isn't true. Teachers are sometimes learning right along with their students. That's what I really enjoyed. The feeling that they're alot like me and make mistakes sometimes too.
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