What do you think they would say if we asked them what their best teachers did (or do) to help them learn?
(Inspired by Steven W. Anderson.)
Author: Tracy Rosen
-
Unwrapping the cellophane
In yesterday’s post about oral assessment, I commented that “…the very act of talking with our students helps us to see them. To really see them as people, as learners, as individuals in our classrooms.”
On Friday, Marc Prensky talked about the notion of ‘cellophane kids‘, a term used to describe how teachers look through students to their subject matter, end of year exams, etc.. instead of seeing students for who they are – people with passion and hope for the future.
It reminded me of a post I wrote in August of 2008 called What’s my lesson? (look right through me.) It was inspired by this lyric:
hello teacher tell me what’s my lesson? look right through me, look right through me. Roland Orzabal/Tears for Fears, 1982
In it, I wrote:
In my last post (By Any Means Human) we reflected on the human qualities teachers – we – bring to our classrooms. One of the strongest just might be the ability to both do and not do what this line is asking.
G-d forbid, as teachers, we look through our students. Imagine being invisible? I’ve known how that feels. Like I don’t exist. That’s the part not to do.
At the same time, when a student arrives in my classroom she is implicitly asking for her lesson.
She is asking me for her lesson.
And if I look right through her, past her language, her colour, her attitude wrought from years of learned helplessness and strong wall making and straight to her, I just may be able to find the lesson she’s asking for.
Maybe.
That’s the part to do. That maybe I wrote about? That is where my heart leads me.
I still believe that.
By talking with our students – and oral assessment is a way of talking with students for a specific purpose but certainly not the only way! – we are unwrapping the cellophane. We are fulfilling what I believe to be our human responsibility – taking care of each other. As teachers we can take care of each other by helping each other discover our passion, our hope for the future that exists in us all.
-
Saving time while assessing
I was given some homework on Friday. It was to make a short video, talking to teachers about saving time in the classroom with oral assessments. Here you go, Marc ;)
I cannot underscore the value of talking to your students for evaluative purposes. Not only is it the quickest way to evaluate individual understanding with any kind of veracity but the very act of talking with our students helps us to see them. To really see them as people, as learners, as individuals in our classrooms.
-
A morning with Marc Prensky: idea bits
We had the opportunity to chat with Marc Prensky at a Quebec convention for adult educators (AQIFGA). Here are some thoughts and comments from the morning.
—-
“If the answer is findable on google then it’s not a good question.” Marc Prensky
The idea of embedding curriculum within student interests and relevancy –> something I try to do no matter what / who I teach.
From Marc Prensky: Evaluations allow us to conveniently rank people – where is the need to do that?
My question…
In adult Ed, by the age of 21 you can go on to university based on interest, drive, life experience. You can go into vocational programs at the age of 18 with GDT + 1 or 2 other functional pre-reqs. Why are we making learners jump through these evaluatory hoops before then?From MP: It’s easy to criticize but there are no alternatives…
From me: (I like the notion of mature student interview and intent interview as a possible alternative… Something to look at)
From Marc Prensky: What do teachers control? : We allow time to be the decider of what we teach (for example, snow days can cut whole sections out of courses…) but really, as teachers, WE can determine what is important in our curriculum to teach.
From me + Marc Prensky: Imagine if teachers all strived to be a teacher of passion.
From Marc Prensky: “Cellophane kids” – kids who teachers look right through because they are only concerned about the curriculum and the tests, not the kids.
From me: A few adult learners were present – excellent. They expressed how they feel about the way exams work, how technology helps them learn. Important conversation to have. I suggest we consult with our students on a regular basis to make sure we are teaching them the way they deserve.
Marc is trying to find alternative ways to tell teachers to relinquish control – if you tell someone they have to give up control, who would want to? Let’s go about it differently.
From a teacher + MP: Classroom teachers will still have a lot of control, it just looks different –> let’s say this to as many people as possible. The only person a teacher will believe is another teacher. So teachers need to share these nuggets.
From Marc Prensky: School ought to be about becoming not learning. Learning can help us to become, but shouldn’t be the main point.
From Marc Prensky: When it comes to how to get students using social media in the classroom in a focused way, the first place to get practical suggestions from is the students.
From me: We need to talk to our students. We need to listen to our students. Start with what they do, not with what we do. Confronting the notion of cellophane kids.
From a student : Teachers have to understand how we deal with life so they can learn how to teach us.
From a teacher : We may think they are fooling around on YouTube but really they are learning in ways we don’t know. Or maybe they are taking a break. Or maybe they are showing us that we aren’t reaching them. Or maybe they are showing us they need more/less structure.
-
Is integrating technology still the goal?
A short while ago I began a discussion on LinkedIn asking if people agreed with my statement that integrating technology was not the goal. The comments were rich, if you are a member of TIE (Technology in Education) at LinkedIn, go ahead and read the comments. So many good thoughts.
I thought I’d open it up for discussion here as well.
So…
Do you agree with my statement that integrating technology is not the goal?
I talk about it in more detail in this little video created for DevPro – a professional development project initiated by consultants Marc-André Lalande and Avi Spector that aims at flipping PD for Quebec’s English sector adult education teachers.