Weekly Reflection Blog Post #1- Jan. 16th
Weekly Reflection Blog Post #1- Jan. 16th
“Do We Need to Reimagine Education?”
After watching Most Likely to Succeed (2015), I could see how the documentary challenges traditional schooling and does not prioritize a rigid system with standardized assignments and testing. The project-based learning model they talked about draws more on individual students’ creative skills, team-work, and critical thinking, especially when facing real life problems. This way of instructing makes a lot of sense because it exposes the skills that students will actually need outside of school and into their futures. Therefore, I found myself agreeing that education needs to be reimagined in many ways, but not totally replaced. These approaches can be very useful for older students who are comfortable with working in a self-autonomous way but I question how many younger students and students who only know structure can dive into this. How might supporting every type of student at the same time look while developing old and new skills?
“What Obstacles do Educators Often Face When They Try to Change Pedagogy?”
Changing pedagogy is not a simple process. It stood out to me how difficult it really is for teachers to alter pedagogy, even when they are passionate about it. I noticed that teachers in the documentary could have multiple pressures such as the curriculum expectations, time, grade book requirements, and traditional standards. It is very hard to change a rigid system that has been around for so long and has been implemented as “the way” to do it. Breaking out of this comfortable zone can be daunting, especially with how much extra planning and flexibility is needed. It may be even next to impossible without higher administrative support. With all of this said, going into an area as advanced and ever-changing as technology, many people grow skeptical. Therefore, I do recognize how technology can support these teachings but I also cannot help but think of equity or privacy concerns. Some students may not have the same opportunities as others to internet and laptop access. And when they do, are they also getting the skills and literacies to maintain their safety online on top of everything. I just do not want to see corners being cut and there being gaps widened even further between students with a new approach.
What Concerns and/or Excites You About this Approach?
I am excited about this approach because it is amazing to see how students are taking pride in their own education at a high degree. Many seem to take a deeper ownership of their work because they are engaging more because they are working with topics that feel more meaningful to their own selves. This is especially useful in my subject area of social studies where inquiry is needed in order to fulfill deeper student learning and stray from the traditional means of rigid history lectures and long, uniform papers. I also saw the power in how struggle was used as part of learning rather than something to be afraid of. One cannot learn without a bit of failure to realize mistakes that need improving. Overall, the documentary made me feel hopeful for the possibility of reimagining education but reminded me that there is lots of work to be done to get there and change has to be very intentional with deep thought on inclusivity and realisticness for the classroom.
1st image- https://thenounproject.com/icon/collaborative-projects-8055350