Situated Cognition and more

After reading Situated Cognition and completing the Kahoot I thought I had a relatively good handle on the reading. When we got to class and started taking the quizzes of my classmates I felt even better about my understanding of the reading. I was excited and happy because I knew the answers! Then we started discussing the reading and getting deeper into the meaning and I realized how it was so much more than just the vocabulary terms and phrases we all pulled out for our Kahoots.

The two main things I took from it was  first Authentic Activity, what is real in our students worlds not the school world. It’s more than just worksheets and textbooks, it’s bringing the learning to their real world. Second Enculturation which is adopting the behaviors and beliefs of a social group. If we want our students to learn math they need to become mathematicians. In order to put these into practice we need tools, these can either be physical or a concept. Learning is best when we use all three: activity, culture and tools. This made sense to me, it’s how you learn outside of school. It’s how babies learn, it's how we learn to play a sport. Yet in school we are doing the opposite.

We talked about the ABCs, SPD, and AeCTS which all follow the same principle of authentic learning. When we began discussing these I began to think of my lessons and projects and wonder if they fit into these acronyms or what I can do to change them. Already my mind is spinning with ideas on how to bring more authentic learning into my classroom. I even called a friend after class to ask her if she would be a part of a project I have in mind and Skype with my students.

What I loved most about this class is these are things I already knew I wanted to do but just didn't have the tools to do it. I feel like now I have the tools and system for how to create an authentic problem for my students to use, even in a Spanish classroom.

One final thought, something that definitely stuck out to me the most was the “e” in AeCTS. Which stands for the exit strategy. It never occurred to me that we give our students  an authentic situation to solve with no conclusion. What was the point of that? I guess in part because I new what the exit strategy was and just always left it at that. This is definitely a game changer for me and my teaching.

Saber-Tooth Curriculum

Like any good consumer before I  began reading Saber-Tooth Curriculum, I decided to read the reviews. Almost all were excellent and kept repeating how hilarious this book was. When I finally sat down to read it,  I kept thinking how on earth is this going to be humorous. Maybe the humor was above my head and I missed the punch line. Luckily that was not the case!

I enjoyed this book and was amazed that while it was written in 1935, it still applied today. The lecture that Peddiwell tells Mr. Wayne, about the paleolithic tribes education system is present today. New-Fist had created a system that was successful for their time, but when the fish ran dry, the small horses died out and the saber-tooth tigers stopped coming, the education system became outdated. Instead of adapting to the new world around them, tribe members insisted that they must continue with New-Fists education plan. This choice would be at the cost of their tribe.

This rang true for many principles in our education system today. Immediately someone in class chimed in about how cursive writing was an example of this. My first thought was “NO!!!” Working in a parochial school, teaching and using cursive plays a huge part in our school community. I love cursive and use it often, but immediately I saw that my fellow classmate meant. What’s the point and why are we forcing it down our students throats?!

Is it for their benefit or is it because we have always done it that way?

I have asked myself this question several times this week. Every classroom decision I have made came about after reflecting on this question. I need to remember to incorporate the main idea, of living and learning. In order for my students to be successful they need to see the link between both living and learning. School and life are not two separate things for them. I need to make sure that my lessons and my students are using the PICKLE everyday to be successful.

First Design Principle- Teachers as Designers

Teachers as designers is moving away from the classic Norman Rockwell view of teaching and shifting to a style that brings innovation and creation into the hands of students.

No longer are teachers only planners, organizers and schedulers but now they need to be facilitators guiding students to voice and choose how they want to learn.

Teachers as designers is creating opportunities for students to learn, by taking the learning into their own hands. When a teacher becomes the designer she is no longer organizing and scheduling her lessons, but instead creating and innovating ideas to help her students think critically, problem solve, and communicate.

In the two articles we read we saw how two teachers incorporated technology in their lessons, but the results were very different. Where in one class students used it as an added tool and struggled to find a balance between technology and regular pencil and paper. In  the other class it becomes an instrument of learning and an alternative way to assess students.

This the direction education needs to go in. The drawback is convincing everyone involved. When my school decided to make our middle school 1:1 we had over half of the parents against the idea completely. Partly because that is not the way they were taught. The reality is that if we want our students to be global citizens in the world we need to prepare them and given the tools to be successful. Designing instead of planning is a mental shift for all involved. Becoming a Designer in a Foreign Language classroom is going to be a challenge for me. In order for my students to become global citizens and aware of other cultures it is essential that I challenge them with real world problems that they will encounter. It’s going to take time, but the results from the students are what will make it successful.