As a member of the Millennial
generation, I find some common ground with the students of today. I remember sitting in my undergraduate
college classes watching a professor write on a chalk board thinking, “What is
this guy doing??” As a middle school teacher,
I understand that the “Stand and deliver” style of instruction is not effective
for our students. Death by PowerPoint is
becoming a problem of the past with our fast paced new environment. Our students need engagement and collaboration. These students expect quick feedback and need
class to move at a rapid pace. Sitting
in a desk for 55 minutes straight is not appropriate for the students of today.
One of
the things that I do not see as much from the students of the Generation Edge
is the digital doubting that is spoken about in the “Close to the Edge”
article. It could be the age group I’m
teaching, but my students do not keep much private. Internet safety and a desire for face-to-face communication isn't as strong as they stated in that article.
The
Prensky article was accurate in describing today’s students as digital
natives. However, I do not feel like a
digital immigrant. I may not have had
access to a computer my entire life like my students have, but I remember the technology
becoming a large part of my life once it made it there.
Amber
ReplyDeleteYou spoke about privacy and internet safety as it relates to generation edge. I believe that this is one of the biggest problems that they/we face in regards to them when it comes to technology. They put nearly everything out for people to see and don't realize or care about the implications that can come from that. What makes it worse is that the laws are so far behind that they don't protect them from themselves. I think part of our lesson plan should involve internet safety and privacy.
Tracie,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I'm fortunate to work in a building where we have a staff working hard to teach parents and students about the dangers of online media. Just on Thursday our parent liaison worked with the local police department and held a workshop for parents on internet safety.
I completely agree with you, Amber. Regarding the Prensky article, I don't feel, at all, as I am a Digital Immigrant; my students may know more about different types of gaming devices and new media driven websites. However, just as it is with anything, when new "stuff" comes out, kids are quickly drawn to 'figure out' how to use it/ how it will be of benefit to further convince their parents to buy it...or at least attempt. With that said, I feel quite competent and more savvy than my students in regards to educationally, effective technology tools. For example, when introducing www.todaysmeet.com, my students were shocked I knew of the site and they did not; needless to say, they would have no use for it outside of the educational setting, so why would they know about it?
ReplyDeleteGood points Amber!
To stimulate a bit of discussion in your group, you could focus on this quote from your post: Sitting in a desk for 55 minutes straight is not appropriate for the students of today.
ReplyDeleteWas it ever appropriate? Why/not? If not, what changed, and what evidence do you have to support that claim?
[And please, don't think of my response as 'calling you out' for something you said. I'm just giving your group a little more to talk about.]
Hello everyone,
ReplyDeleteIn response to the question about sitting at a desk for 55 minutes or longer, that is what we have to do at Wayne State when we have a class there. That is what they are going to have to learn to do as well. I understand that they are use to mult-itasking however i also think they need to learn some patience and endurance. Since i am a boomer that is how we were taught so i guess i am use to it but when i look at my students and see how busy they are sometimes i just tell them to put everything down and just listen to the music so they can relax and tell me what they hear. I don't think students are taking time out to just relax and enjoy life while they are learning. I also think it has a lot to do with who their parents are and what they are being taught at home.
I absolutely think it was appropriate because it teaches children to sit at other functions and be attentive as well.
To piggyback off of Dr. Siko's/Amber's comment on the 55 minute discussion, of course students are going to get bored if a teacher lectures for that long in the classroom. I am evidence of this because I had teachers at ALL levels if my education that never seemed to stop lecturing. It is not an enjoyable or beneficial experience for students to learn like that. However, teachers that adopt that philosophy won't be successful and can't sustain that sort of instructional strategy. My main objective (and I think this is a consensus) is to try to deliver instruction in a traditional manner, but to improve and constantly evaluate my techniques to better serve my students. Let's face it, the traditional style of learning has worked for all of us, but didn't necessarily work for all of our fellow peers. It's up to us educators to use what we have been taught, but to incorporate new and innovative ideas into our instruction.
ReplyDeleteWere 55 minutes of lecture ever appropriate? Probably not. Like Shaun stated in his comment, I've experienced this at all levels of my education, and it's terrible. It's terribly boring to deliver instruction in that manner as well. Working in small groups and differentiating instruction is immensely engaging and effective. In my classroom the students are learning by speaking to each other, using manipulatives, and working cooperatively as often as possible. Do we have lectures from time to time? Of course, but we're utilizing interactive notes to keep students engaged and it's not our primary was of delivering instruction.
ReplyDeleteWe need to take into account how our students learn and level the playing field.
As we finish up this week, a few additional things to think about (and yes, I'm playing devil's advocate):
ReplyDelete1. To Shaun's comment, he said long lecture has been a part of all his educational experiences. Maybe that means it works! Obviously, Shaun has been a successful student.
2. Further, when we ask students to 'read the book' they often don't, or they don't understand it, despite these texts being written by educators at a lower reading level than the intended audience. I would assume many of you read material, didn't understand, then came to class to hear a lecture to clear things up.
3. Finally, my point in asking the question in the first place was in regard the theme of the unit, generational differences. If they're not as 'real' as we think, and we've been successful with these methods previously, then why change? [note: I have my thoughts on this, which I'm reserving at the moment.]
In regards to Dr. Siko's comment of 'why change?,' I don't think we should change our methods. Students need to learn the skills of reading at a higher level to not only increase their vocabulary, but aid in their fluency and comprehension skills. Text and informational readings will only be increasingly difficult as they age. If we change our methods, where is the challenge for our students? Reading will be apart of our lives no matter what profession/trade path and as teachers (at least for me), my goal is to set my students up to lead a successful personal and professional life.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do not enjoy sitting and listening to a 55 minute lecture. Is there a purpose for a lecture? Sure, but I feel that it is much more benifical to students if they are given the opportunity to work collaborativly with their peers and to create a conversation between the teacher and the students. For my young students, all activities are no more than 20 minutes, and that's pushing it! Honestly, since I began teaching kindergarten, I have realized that I can't sit for more than 20 minutes at a time.
ReplyDeleteDr. Siko, Just because these methods "worked" for us, doesn't mean they were the best. I believe that if my own teachers utilized some of the methods that I use with my own students today, my achievement would have been much higher. Just because something works, doesn't mean there isn't a better way of doing something.
ReplyDelete