21st Cetury Authentic Learning

UNESCO published a book entitled "What makes a Good Teacher?" (1996). Over 500 children from some 50 countries aged 8-12 contributed their opinions. The results vary from personal characteristics that teachers posses; things like dedication, passion, knowledge, and communication skills, to ways that good teachers makes students feel; cared for and making kids excited for school.

Over the four years that I have been a student at Brock University and have studied education, I have been thinking about the best ways to engage my future students, to make learning fun, practical and lasting, to leave students with enduring understandings and to hopefully help spark an interest or a passion in students, regardless of what area that might be in. But there are also fears that I have about teaching, and it seems the more I learn about education, the more comprehensive the process seems.

Here are just a few of the questions that often come up for me:

1) How will I balance classroom management techniques with innovative, fun learning?

2) How will I solidify a methodological routine in my new classroom, while also adjusting to the 'newness' of the job?

3) How will I make my students be enthralled and excited to come to school, and have a voice in the direction of my lesson planning? And by extension, how do I plan for the long terms, and maintain a sense of flexibility and adeptness?

 At the risk of sounding absolutely and utterly corny, I will say that I think learning occurs always, from everyday interactions to large, personal endeavors. I am enamoured with the idea that learning can occur seamlessly with student's personal interest, whilst also aligning with curriculum expectations. Overall, I think the following quote is beautiful in its simplicity:

 

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MindShift is one source of some thought provoking educational practices. The website has  recently written a very though provoking article about perpetuating learning though what is called "The Maker Movement" through which schools create "an unconventional learning community of 'makers'". This revolutionary idea is fascinating grass-roots approach to bringing student interest into the classroom. Through this program, students examine problems in the 'real-world'; concrete issues that they have witnessed, experienced or have become interested with, and work to generate solutions.  The benefits of this program are vast and encompass many of the critical 21st century skills: hands-on, practical learning; critical thinking and evaluation; problem solving; collaboration, teamwork and leadership. This process of learning through adventure allows kids to experiment, makes mistakes and learn in very real situations. The following quote sums it up eloquently:

"I think kids are more in tune with this outside world that cares about what they think and what their passions and talents are, and they know school doesn’t have it,” Martinez said. That’s why a child programming a robot one minute is crying and fighting over having to do worksheets later the same night. So far, education has treated the kind of tinkering valued in maker communities as a goofy activity before the serious learning, not as the core lesson itself." (Schwartz, 2014).

 

The challenge then becomes to dent the mold a little bit, and to step away from being a 'conventional teacher', to take authentic learning to the next level: one where it is attainable, and very real in the lives of young people. Drake et al. (2014) beautifully describe interactive thinking as synthesizing the "either/or dichotomy" as a necessary skill to being global 21st century citizens. One method of bridging the dichotomy, and teaching students to inquire and research topics that are important to them is through project-based learning (Drake et al., 2014).  Again, this is an obvious link to the "The Maker Movement" project. The very same constructivist learning principle is employed. Perhaps the 'traditional' education should be turned on its head, and be influenced by purposeful education. Perhaps then, we must move into the direction of learning while doing in a system where instruction and application are seamlessly interwoven. Classrooms where student interest should be the lead with "driving questions" guided by genuine interest to fully engage students in the learning process may foster this purposeful education model.

And after all of this, I return to my three questions/concerns as a new future teacher:

1) How will I balance classroom management techniques with innovative, fun learning?

2) How will I solidify a methodological routine in my new classroom, while also adjusting to the 'newness' of the job?

3) How will I make my students be enthralled and excited to come to school, and have a voice in the direction of my lesson planning? And by extension, how do I plan for the long terms, and maintain a sense of flexibility and adeptness?

There certainly is a lot to consider, and the learning curve will surely be steep, but I am looking forward to implementing all of this knowledge in my own, future classroom, and including myself in the process of learning while doing.  

 

Until next time,

Ana

 

 

References:

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment: Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON.: Oxford University Press.