STAR Legacy

So as always...Im a little late with this.

I read STAR much earlier in the week and didnt have a lot of thoughts on it. The one thing I kept thinking was: scientific theory. Perhaps that is because we are in the middle of getting ready for our school's first science fair and we have done nothing in computer lab for 2 weeks other than research all of the students projects, come up with questions and hypothesis-es (whats the plural for that?) and research some more and try to understand scientific principles. So really...thats what this seemed like to me. Have a question. Come up with some ideas. Research it. Answer it. Discuss it.

I like this. It makes it so that you can apply this logical thinking method to every subject, not just science. Kids can actually think for themselves instead of being told what to think. And with todays technology, its not like you go to the single source for everything: the encyclopedia, read a few paragraphs and then feel like a genius. You can go to the internet and sort through all the real information versus the crap information and then make a decision for yourself about what information is useful and which you should never read again.

This was also more than a theory. Its an actual way to teach. It is something do-able. Its something that is do-able now. And the best part...it doesnt take a lot of time and preparation!! If you are a teacher, you can do it tomorrow. You can do it today. You could probably use it in a pinch when your other lessons arent working out. And how smart will the kids feel when they figured something out for themselves.

I know I have seen a lot of smiling faces and have been told how much fun it was to research and watch videos and find answers for themselves. Learning at its best!

Anchored Instruction

I like this theory in general. But all I can continue to think when I read these articles is that they are just that...theories. I understand that they have been practiced and studied and tried out on students, but I would like to know where they are used today. Do students in Nashville still use these practices? And if they are so effective, how come this is not a part of the curriculum across the United States? Surely money could not be a factor. Schools in wealthy districts have money and schools in low-income districts have all kinds of government money for programs to help increase student achievement. So why is money being spent on programs that encourage a lecture and test type teaching instead of a see and do type learning. I could go on forever about that, but I wont get on a soapbox tonight.

I feel like I did something like this in seventh grade, but I dont remember answering follow-up questions or activities, so it is possible that it was just a video that we watched. I have no idea...I just remember it was called "The Voyage of the Mimi."

I like that this is teaching students how to solve problems and that technique can be transferred into lots of other situations. I feel like no matter how many word problems we throw out in front of students, they just dont seem to get it. Practice does not make perfect in this case, it makes frustration.

A random question...did the students in this scenario actually watch "Indiana Jones"? I would have thought that was the best class ever if we could have watched that for "educational purposes" in class.

I really like that the final questions include ideas like...would you like to be a scientist. Things that apply to life and not just...if this, then that...and what happened next...blah blah boring questions.

I like the idea that we teach thinking in a school setting when we really should be teaching how to think the way that it naturally occurs...socially. At my school, so many teachers often say that our students are very street smart...so maybe we need to alternate our teaching approach to line up with their street thinking skills. Two problems I can think of...most of us that work at the school, while we care deeply for the children and really want them to learn as much as they can...have never experienced what these children have so we may not be able to approach them in that way. I have never seen anyone shot as several of my students have, I have never been without a house or food, or electricity. So how could I possibly teach computer skills from the social context that these students are used to. Problem 2...I think that everyone would have to be on board with this idea and as most teachers like to be in charge and do things their way...it is hard to get 25 different teachers to get on the same page and teach the same way. Some days it is hard to get 3 teachers to teach the same objectives. :)

In the Jasper Experiment article...I like the "community of inquiry." My favorite days of teaching are when we start talking about exporting items on a computer and then end up learning about a new bridge that is being built in China and finding out when the candlestick telephone was invented and how a bank works and everything on earth besides what my lesson was about. I love it when the kids get so into learning that we just talk and search the internet and find all the information we can about whatever it is that they do not know. Last week, I gave the kids websites to search for science experiments and they just thought it was so cool to go online and find ideas for the science fair. To me that is the when the best learning takes place, when we are asking questions and discovering answers...especially questions that I dont know the answer to. I think the kids enjoy that too because their questions are being answered and they feel like they are just as smart as the teacher...b/c I dont know the answers either. :)

Goal Based Learning

I like the idea of GBL. I really do think the best way to learn is experience. As I was grading practice SAT essays this week, the question was...Do students learn better by doing? Most of the students answered yes and said that they would prefer to experience something rather than learn it in a book.

I definately think that we learn by doing and I think that our memories of events trigger our learning. For instance, I was thinking that if students have anxiety from a previous test, then they are likely to remember that and potentially do bad on the next test. But if they learn in a fun environment, where mistakes are welcome and there is no pressure to "learn" they will probably retain information a little better. Learning seems to be easier when there is no stress.

We are able to learn form our mistakes because there is no pressure to be right. We are more instrinsically motivated because there is no concern for grades or performance expectations. The only expectation is to do your best.

I wish there was a way in every subject to present content knowledge followed by practical knowledge. But how do you use a learn by doing approach in a subject like English? In some ways I have seen it done, but seems as though it could not always be accomplished in every subject.

I think for children, especially the children where I teach, if we could turn all of this knowledge into something that will apply to their life they could remember it better. But what about the kids that are more concerned with if they have food or where they will sleep...how do we make the knowledge applicable to their lives...even if we allow them to practice it and experience it.

I think it would be great if we could change our entire state curriculum to a theory like this and base it on technology, but with budget cuts and lack of qualified teachers, how do you implement this? Seems to me that to do something like this with independent adult learners would be useful, but with children you would need at least 2 adults in a room to carry out experiments. With budget cuts, most elementary schools only have 1 teacher per room with no assistants in the upper grade levels.

Overall, I really do like this idea and wish that all schools could operate like this at least part of the day. All of the ifs and buts and what abouts just come from seeing the school systems in eastern NC the way that they are and knowing that it is going to take more than a theory to achieve success.