Pedagogical Changes in Education

Pedagogical Changes in Education

Ready or not here change comes.  When change is on the horizon or staring you in the face you have the choice to run and hid and act as though it isn’t happening or stand and face it head on with gusto.

Will Richardson brings up the point that educators need to embrace and understand changes in technology and the read write web before they will be able to bring it into the classroom for their students.  I agree that this is necessary because we are never able to teach what we do not know.  Having the opportunity to experience the Web 2.0 is giving me an appreciation for the power of the system and the process necessary to use it.  Teachers need to opportunities to experience the read and write web in professional learning communities which are very constructive in the same way they will be asking their students to collaborate and create with others.  It’s a great way to develop new skills and have a chance to practice those skills in a safe environment of peers who are doing the same.  The supportive connections that are made through collaborative groups adds to the interest and desire to continue to learn and grow.

Publishing for a real audience adds an element of authenticity and purpose to writing.  This different style of writing requires both the creator and the receiving audience to be critical consumers of ideas.  These ideas can be presented in a variety of ways and is not limited only to text.  In order for me as the recipient to respond I must become a critically participatory partner in the process.  The payoff is that by getting and giving feedback on the published creation everyone involved learns and comes away with more skills and knowledge from having participated.  It feels wonderful to feel that your ideas and thoughts are being heard and to have others comment on those observations.

My Philosophy of Education

My philosophy of education is simply the interaction of a learner and an experience which results in a change in knowledge, skills, and or character of the learner. This change will be reflected in the individual’s interaction with future activities, thoughts or events.

One of my favorite quotes on the subject of education comes from the late tennis pro Arthur Ashe who said, “Start where you are, use what you have and do what you can.”  This opens up a multitude of possibilities for teaching and learning.  With that said, education can happen at any time or in any location.  It is not limited to age, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.  It can be highly structures and planned or it can be haphazard and sporadic while often ebbing and flowing for an individual over time.

So how does the teacher, mentor, director, guide or facilitator fit into this picture?  In formal or structured education the organizer has the role of managing information and materials while acting as an overseer of the process ready and available to inspire, instruct, ask question and keep the process moving towards established goals or objectives.  This overseer frequently has a big picture perspective and is skilled in orchestrating some form of progression, moving forward and backwards along the learning continuum as necessary.

In the case of informal education, the teacher is often difficult to identify because there is not always a clear delineation of roles between the learner and the teacher.  For example when a new product is being developed who is the teacher and who is the learner on a development team?  Sometimes the roles are shares and a tag team of teacher or learner is created.

For education to actually happen a change has to be demonstrated by the learner.  Sometimes the learner is not overtly aware that a personal change has taken place.  Nevertheless, when learning has occurred the new behaviors will be played out as needs and situations arise calling for action from individual.  The cycle of a learner having an experience, acting or reacting to the situation, reflecting or processing the event and then rapidly making assumptions, predictions or generalizations about the scenario happens very quickly and is actively processed countless times during an individual’s life.

Learners carry the responsibility of mentally showing up and participating in the activities and events of daily life.  Individuals through active participation and reflection determine how experiences will influence their future personal growth.  When changes in behaviors, attitudes or skills are demonstrated the learner has experienced education. 

A Little About Me

Little About Me

           Greetings everyone.  Here's a little about myself and what makes me tick.

G enerous  I'm a giver of my time and talents to those around me and now even those who I will come to     know through this class and the world beyond.

A dventurous I love to travel, any time anywhere. When I was young my family had a dog who would get      excited every time he heard the jingle of the car keys.  I guess I'm a little like that only with me it's the jingle of money for travel.

I nquisitive  My favorite question is "Why."  I have a passion in finding answers to all of my questions. I have  so many  ideas floating around in my head that my children, who are now adults, used to say to me, "Mom you think too much."

L ively  Life is a mystery.  There really are only a few rules and the rest we make up as we go along.

The very first blog.

This is fantastic.