Using Technology to Advance LearningFoundations of Online LearningAmerican Military University

USING TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE EDUCATIONWith the role of technology rapidly changing the world, we must change with it. During the 21st century our traditional approach to learning has changed forever. The traditional way of learning in a classroom setting has changed also. In the past, teachers have served as the primary source of information for students, but today teachers no longer lecture while students passively take notes, and I believe it’s safe to say those days are gone for good. Today you will find college students placing voice recorders on their desk for the class, instead of sitting in the class themselves. (Kozmar 2000) Teachers are now using video projectors and power point presentations as teaching tools for the modern day classroom, and this technology draws the students into the conversation and captivates their attention. This is used by teachers as an effective enabler for the students learning the curriculum. Our society in the United States has transformed into a technologically enhanced society. The children of today are commonly called the “Computer Generation”. (Neto 2007) We all now have the ability to shop, bank, and even read the news because of the internet. Teachers now use technology in daily curriculum to trigger a higher order of thinking, and how the curriculum is learned. (Neto 2007) During the last decade, schools across the country have had a significant increase of state and federal funding to implement new technology into classrooms. Congress has allocated billions of dollars in funding for the integrations of technology into classroom curriculum. The integration of computers and the internet has had a profound positive effect on students and there ability to learn in the classroom. The impact of the internet and computers, and there impact on classrooms is unprecedented. (Ed.Gov 2001) There are a lot of people who take...

Teaching is a profession that is considered to be loved by many. Each year we can see a large number of education

students that graduates on their chosen course. But while it is possible for one to graduate in an education course,

not everyone has the talent or gift of teaching. Suffice to say, teaching is a profession that is not for everyone.

Teachers always finds a way to improve their teaching techniques so that their lesson reaches their students in a

more effective way. If you find that your teaching style doesn't seem to reach your audience, then maybe it is time

that you makes some changes or adjustments. Fortunately there are many ways which can help you improve your

teaching style.

Learn to research the current trends in teaching. It is highly possible that your teaching style is obsolete and

that could be the reason why you're having difficulties connecting to your audience. Many educational

organizations are consistently producing research materials like articles and newsletters about the current trend

in teaching. You can integrate these trends into your own teaching style and how it goes.

If you are a new graduate in education, then the lack experience is your greatest hurdle when it comes to

teaching your students. In order to make up for your lack of experience, you can opt to attend continuing

education classes that can help you learn about teaching techniques. Inquire from your local college or

university if such an option is available for you.

Collaborate with your colleagues so that you can help each other out. An advice from a seasoned teacher is

considered to be an invaluable information that can certainly help you improve your teaching style. Or you can

also choose to observe them while they teach their classes for some ideas that you can assimilate. You can

also ask them to observe you while you teach so that they can provide constructive criticisms that can help

improve your teaching style.

When it comes to teaching styles, while it is certainly a well accepted idea to stick with whatever style that

works but it tends to get obsolete and students would find it boring. So as a teacher, do not hesitate to try

something new if you think that it will improve your overall teaching style. Continue to evolve your teaching

style.

Make good use of the technology that is available to you. Modern technology has allowed teaching to be more

convenient for teachers. One good example is to take advantage of various multimedia devices like Multi-Touch

touch screen, multimedia projectors and holographic projection. This does not only make things convenient for

you, it also makes your lecture interesting for modern students.

As it is mentioned before, not everyone can be good with teaching. But at least there are ways for you in order to

improve your own teaching style or develop your own. For all teachers, being more effective in the profession is a

goal that is worth pursuing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6135315

New Teaching Methods

Included here are numerous resources for increasing teaching effectiveness and improving student learning. Includes theory books as well as practical manuals and guides for creating the next generation of innovative scientists.

Learning through InquiryEducators generally agree that children learn best by doing. It is puzzling, therefore, that this awareness is only rarely translated into classroom instruction methods. Amazingly, rote learning techniques are still prevalent in schools. Children are often moved through the same pre-fabricated curricula while the creative and highly effective talents of mentor level teachers are often ignored or stifled. Rigid curricula (be on this page on this day) are neatly aligned to

standardized tests but do the children (and society) really benefit from this one size fits all approach? Even the test scores themselves are providing some answers - that rote learning may produce test-takers but it does not produce critical thinkers or even the next generation of creative, enthusiastic scientists. This, at a time when critical thinking skills are increasingly in demand. Research continually validates hands-on inquiry-based learning as an effective teaching methodology for nurturing the future inventors and scientists.

Science Teaching Methods and ResourcesIn this section you will find science teaching methods resources and assessment guides along with scientific method problem solving kits, lab safety manuals and creative interdisciplinary exercises.

Connecting with the EnvironmentIncluded in this section are a number of resources to help children and adults connect with their local environment, in other words to develop a sense of place. In so doing, individuals often come to understand that their efforts really do make a difference and that their interactions with both natural and built communities influence their emotional and intellectual growth in a positive manner.

Center for Gifted Education PublicationsThe Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and Mary was established in 1988 to provide services to educators, policy makers, graduate students, researchers, parents, and students in support of the needs of gifted and talented individuals. Their science and nature publications are found in this section.

GEMS CurriculaGreat Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS), developed by educators at the Lawrence Hall of Science at UC Berkeley, offers a wide array of activities for enhancing science education for students in grades K-9. The GEMS guides undergo extensive field testing and are filled with effective, creative exercises for enhancing student interest in and knowledge of math and science.

SALE ITEMS: Science Teaching MethodsThe teaching methods and educational theory resources on sale here are from catalog overstock and special purchases. All of these products are in new, mint condition at prices ranging from 25-65% off. New sale items are constantly being added (and removed wh

Open-ended word problemsThe program also uses open-ended word problems and physical representations of mathematical concepts to develop problem-solving skills. Rather than asking one specific question, word problems require children to think more analytically about the information they encounter.An example is: “Rukundo has 1 pencil. Muhire has 3. What can you say?” This problem has many correct answers. Students may report that Rukundo has fewer pencils than Muhire, that Muhire has two more pencils than Rukundo, that if Muhire gives 1 pencil to Rukundo, they will have the same number of pencils, and so on.“This open-ended word problem is a better model of the thinking needed to solve problems we encounter in real life,” stresses Dr Paul Goldenberg, L3 senior math specialist. “When you are running a business, or doing anything else, you get information, but no one tells you the questions you need to answer or what you need to do.”In addition to the numeracy program, schools will receive a comprehensive literacy support package for English and Kinyarwanda. L3 in collaboration with REB are training teachers on the use of the above materials and the instructional techniques they support. By 2016, primary grades 1 to 4 in all public schools across the country will have benefited from these programs.The literacy program emphasizes awareness of the individual sounds in words as well as matching these sounds to letters. “This is an essential skill in learning to read especially in our context where we don’t have enough teachers who can read appropriately to students,” says Dr Joyce Musabe, the head of REB’s curriculum development department. “Being able to recognize letters, letter combinations, and commonly-used words quickly ensures that children are able to focus on comprehending the meaning of what is being read.”The support provided include students readers, teacher’s guide, interactive audio instruction programs for both English and Kinyarwanda, and teacher’s guide and interactive audio instruction programs for mathematics.“These materials will enhance the quality of education in the country,” observes REB’s DG Dr John Rutayisire, “but it’s only through the students’ performance that we’ll be able to assess the real effectiveness of the program.”

The 49 Techniques first came to my attention in a March 7, 2010 article in the New York Times

Magazine entitled "Can Good Teaching Be Learned?" The story focused on the book Teach Like a

Champion by Doug Lemov. Having taught with mixed success in inner city Philadelphia, I recognized

the efficacy of the techniques, even in tough to handle classrooms. This article brings links to all of the

blogs I have written together in one place.

Setting High Academic Expectations

Technique One: No Opt Out  Teachers with high expectations don't accept "I don't know," but expect

students to be engaged and "give it a shot."

Technique Two: Right is Right  This technique accepts no half answers, but asks for complete and

correct answers to questions.

Technique Three: Stretch It  This technique pushes a teacher to take correct answers and ask

students to add depth or nuance to their answers.

Technique Four: Format Matters  High expectations also means only accepting students answers in

complete sentence with good grammar.

Technique Five: No Apologies  Teachers with high expectations don't apologize for what they teach.

No more "Sorry I have to teach you Shakespeare."

Technique 39: Do It Again  Repetition is one way to be sure that students understand what you

expect and that it is done to your standards.

Planning that Ensures Academic Achievement

Technique Six: Begin with the End.  This planning technique focuses on the outcome instead of what

you want to do during the period.

Technique Seven: The Four M's  The four m's of planning are Manageable, Measureable, Made first

and Most Important.

Technique Eight: Post It  Be sure your students know your objective for the day by posting it on the

board.

Technique Nine: The Shortest Path  Although teachers are often enamored with clever approaches,

Lemov asserts that the shortest path to the objective is the most effective.

Technique 10: Double Plan  Double planning involves planning not only what you will do, but also

what the students will do during a lesson.

Technique 11: Draw the Map  Drawing the map is controlling the environment by wisely grouping

students through the seating chart.

Structuring and Delivering Your Lessons

Technique 12: The Hook.  Introducing the lesson with a "hook," an activity or item that grabs the

attention of your students will help enhance your lesson.

Technique 13: Name the steps.  Great coaches, like great teachers, break down the tasks into steps.

Technique 14: Board = Paper  This technique means that students put everything you put on the

board on their paper.

Technique 15: Circulate  Keep moving! Drawing the map suggests making room between the desks

so the teacher move unhindered.

Technique 16: Break it Down  Breaking it down requires the teacher to use the wrong answers and

help students discover the correct number.

Technique 17: Ratio Part One  This is a complex idea, and requires two parts! It involves increasing

student participation and limiting teacher talk.

Technique 17: Ratio Part Two  More strategies for increasing the time students are involved in

discussion.

Technique 18: Check for Understanding  This is an on your feet method of data collection, sort of a

formative assessment on the run.

Technique 19: At Bats  Baseball coaches know that the best way to increase effectiveness is to

increase the number of times they are "at bat."

Technique 20: Exit ticket  An exit ticket is a quick formative assessment of the lesson your students

just finished.

Technique 21: Take a Stand  This technique encourages students to have opinions and to take

stands on those opinions.

Engaging Students in your Lesson

Technique 22: Cold Calls  Like the sales technique, the teacher asks someone who is unsuspecting

for an answer. It avoids "opting out," and keeps all your students on their toes.

Technique 23: Call and Response  This technique uses a tradition from African American hymnody,

and creates a way that the whole class can participate in questioning

Technique 24: Pepper  Like a coach lobbing balls to his fielders, a teacher can "pepper" his or her

students with fast paced questions, which makes it fun and keeps students on their toes.

Technique 25: Wait Time  Teachers are too often too impatient, and provide an answer to their own

question when no student pops a hand up. On the other hand, teachers also don't give students

time to shape a complete, thoughtful response to a question.

Technique 26: Everybody Writes  What goes on the board needs to go in the notebooks.

Technique 27: Vegas  Nothing like a little glitz to liven up classroom instruction!

Creating a Strong Classroom Culture

Technique 28: Entry Routine  Having a structured entry routine expedites the beginning of

instruction.

Technique 29: Do Now  Familiar to elementary teachers and devotees of Harry Wong as "bell work,"

Do Nows are brief academic tasks to review the previous day's work or to introduce the days new

work.

Technique 30: Tight Transitions  Transitions need to be scripted and rehearsed, so little time is

wasted between instructional activities.

Technique 32: SLANT  SLANT is an acronym for what excellent attention behavior looks like.

Technique 33: On Your Mark  Coaches expect athletes to be ready to engage in their sport. In the

same way, a teacher shows students what they need to be "on their mark."

Technique 34: Seat Signals  Simple hand signals simplify requesting routine interruptions, such as

using a bathroom or getting a pencil, can eliminate some of the waste of time that plague

instruction.

Technique 35: Props  In Teach Like a Champion parlance, props are fun routines the class does

together to support the success of their peers.

Building and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations

Technique 36: 100 Percent  Champion teachers don't create unreasonable behavioral expectations,

because their final expectation is that everyone conforms all (100%) of the time.

Technique 37: What to Do.  Be sure, if you are asking for compliance, that you have been very

explicit in explaining what it is you want your students "To Do."

Technique 38: Strong Voice Part One and Part Two This technique, strong voice, is one that

separates the really effective teacher from the adequate. It's in two parts so you understand it's use

and how to acquire it.

The Blogs below continue the chapter "Setting and Maintaining High Behavioral Expectations."

Technique 39: Do It Again.  This technique is perhaps the only negative consequence that truly

works. When students fail to meet your standards, you ask them to "Do it again." They model the

appropriate behavior, but are eager not to have to do it again.

Technique 40: Sweat the Details  Building on the "broken window" theory of policing, Lemov notes

that maintaining high standards will have positive effects across the classroom environment.

Technique 41: Threshold  This threshold is the one at the door. By meeting and greeting students as

they enter you can set the tone for your class.

Technique 42: No Warnings.  Responding early and proportionately can help you avoid real crises.

So rather than giving warning, you mete out consequences when the behavior is still only a minor

problem.

Building Character and Trust

Technique 43 Part 1: Positive Framing.  Positive Framing means casting things in a way that is

positive and leads to appropriate behavior. This blog starts with three strategies to help you frame

it positively.

Technique 43 Part 2.  Three more strategies for framing classroom experiences positively.

Technique 44: Precise Praise.  Rather than "cheap praise," precise praise is valued by students

because it describes what it is you are pleased with.

Technique 45: Warm and Strict.  It may seem that warm and strict are contradictory, but effective

teachers can be both at the same time.

Technique 46: The J Factor.  The J in J factor stands for Joy. This technique offers ideas to help your

students experience the Joy!

Technique 47: Emotional Constancy  An effective teacher keeps his or her emotions in check, and

doesn't make it all about him or herself. Make your good moods about good performance, not about

pleasing you.

Technique 48: Explain Everything.  Be sure your students understand why you do what you do, as

the why is an important part of instruction.

Technique 49: Normalize Error.  If students understand that errors are not the end of the world but

an opportunity to learn, they will be more willing to take risks and more likely to learn.

Teach Like a Champion is an excellent resource for teaching, especially for middle school and high

school students. Besides the 49 techniques, it includes recommendations for improving instructional

delivery. The book also includes video demonstrations of the techniques which make it well worth

investing in the book.

In his book "Vocabulary Myths," Keith Folse notes that "[ESL students] see acquisition of vocabulary as their greatest source of problems...[However], vocabulary is not dealt with sufficiently...some teachers cover some vocabulary, but this is hardly ever done very systematically. Vocabulary is something that everyone assumes that learners will somehow pick up, much the same way everyone assumes that students will just pick up good pronunciation" (Folse, 2004).

It is therefore essential that vocabulary which is introduced in class be reviewed and reinforced repeatedly. The following are some ideas for recycling vocabulary both inside and outside of the ESL classroom, using Gerry's Vocabulary Teacher.

 

Gap-Fill Exercises - Various Techniques

Gap-fills are an excellent way to reinforce vocabulary, and allow the student to encounter the vocabulary in a variety of contexts. The exercises can be worked on individually or in pairs in class, or can be assigned as homework to be quickly reviewed in class the next day.

 

The Standard Multi-Word Gap-Fill

Gap-fill exercises can take various forms; the most common is the standard multi-word exercise with a number of sentences and words to choose from. A short example exercise with 5 sentences is shown below.

 

The Gap-Fill with Clues in Root Form

A challenging variation of the above exercise is a gap-fill exercise in which the words which are gapped are presented in their root form. In this way, students have to choose the correct word from the contexts given, and supply the appropriate form of the word, such as a different derivation or different tense. A short example exercise with 5 sentences is shown below.

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Multiple Contexts for One Word

Another variation which can help students to understand the various derivations for a word is a gap-fill exercise with several different contexts for 1 word, each showing a different form or derivation. A short example exercise with 5 sentences is shown below.

 

Listening Practice with Gap-Fills

Gap-fill exercises can be presented as listening exercises. In this exercise, students hear the sentence rather than reading it, and have to choose the appropriate answer. A short example exercise with 6 sentences is shown below. The next day in class, students can be shown the sentences that they heard in the language lab. At this time, they can see if what was said is the same as what they thought they heard. It also offers an additional opportunity to review and learn the target vocabulary.

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Crossword Puzzles with Gap-Fill Clues

Gap-fill exercises can be presented as crossword puzzles. Rather than presenting dictionary definitions as clues, use gap-fill sentences in context. Crossword puzzles are an excellent way to review vocabulary, as students will immediately know their answers are incorrect if they do not fit the puzzle. In addition, if the students can't figure out the answer, they can simply count the squares in the puzzle, find words of equal length and then try to deduce the correct answer. Students who use this strategy should be encouraged to then go back to the puzzle and re-read the context to see if they now understand. An excellent crossword puzzle program is available free of charge fromeclipsecrossword.com. The program allows you to make a crossword puzzle within minutes. All you have to do is type in the answer and the sentence clue, and the computer will generate the best configuration to fit all the words into the puzzle.

A variation on the standard crossword puzzle gap-fill review is the partners' puzzle. Two puzzles are created – puzzle A and puzzle B. Students get the clues for their partner's puzzle. Student A figures out the answers and tells them to Student B, who fills in the blanks in her puzzle. Student B figures out the answers to his clues and gives them to Student A to fill in the blanks in his puzzle. This exercise provides an additional challenge in that the students are not able to count the number of squares in the puzzle to help them find the appropriate answer. This activity can be done in class as a race between groups.

 

Interactive Web-Based Gap-Fill Exercises

Using Hot Potatoes formats JCloze and JMatch, Gerry's Vocabulary Teacher will automatically generate interactive web-based gap-fill exercises for posting on a class or institutional website. Web-based exercises are an excellent way of reviewing vocabulary, as students receive immediate feedback for their responses, and can review the material at any time from any computer with Internet access. Short example exercises created using JMatch and JCloze are shown below.

Interactive Vocabulary Games

You can create a variety of interactive games on the Internet using classtools.net. The basic game-maker program is available free of charge. Use Gerry's Vocabulary Teacher to create contexts, replace the blank ____________ with the symbols ###, and have the target vocabulary as the answers. Complete instructions for creating the games are available on the website. We have found the best game template to be: Arcade Game Generator - WordShoot. Click on the image below to give it a try! Each level of the game gets increasingly challenging.

dvanced Teaching Methods

Steps for Advanced Teaching Methods

Special educators have a number of techniques that can be applied to all students. “Teaching first-rate” is someone who develops a way of

teaching and the spirit of a child. In collaboration with students of limited capacity, the lesson of the last step, then the next and so on until the end, seems to work. An example is teaching these students as a band. The child learns to cover the wheel nuts before and after. Then they are taught or solving a tire on the rim and work, etc. An expert will with patience all the steps in reverse order. Finally, the child learns the process and the whole process from start to finish in sequence to create.This plan of advanced teaching methods worked successfully for regular students, too. One example is the use of “teaching the first term of the ‘technology in a regular classroom for a scientific journal. The instructor will announce the research project, to discuss what is your vision, and because the members of the class for this project. Then the teacher explains how the project will be evaluated and qualified. It would be a good time to examples of projects that have taken place around the kids to see shows. It should be noted for the

excellent work encourages students to be creative, because it helps them a real project, an idea, to see how to do their job. How students to high quality projects as well or better in their duties to inspire.The next step of advanced teaching methods would be to make clear when projects are do and how to ensure that all children expiration date written in their book or laptop for sale. The following are the rules of advanced teaching methods for the selection of topics, format, length, discuss, etc., where to find the means and know what they students of the availability of the media center or an encyclopedia to the library or the computer or Internet. It explains how to verify this information. Many teachers, who make this information accessible to a flyer. The expiry date may be repeated in this work.Then one or more themes for the project will be discussed later. Students can exchange ideas, to help formulate the question. It will be easier for subjects to select the information already. And home for a child to

concentrate on one idea for a project like the more real in your mind. The student will certainly remember the teacher’s explanation of his involvement.  In advanced teaching methods, students can be prepared with the most important

issues, then guided step by step through the assignment of teaching the first batch. Projects of high quality result.The end of the first lesson concerns the use of headlines.  Some teachers use sections to detail the requirements for an investigation. Others think that a book as a set of rules for a mission. As someone wrote: 4 In some cases a result of this classification category, students tell stories with an A or “You can learn all about a mission, the length of the sections of the site the argument expressions for the number of bases.” Four specific criteria and receive lower classes of the points less than the content.Some school systems and teachers believe that the provisions of sections clearly shows that the students make a great work to do. But other educators, heads to reduce creativity. Teachers can also view log starting positions and limit their freedom to correct what they want. Items can also be slow to work to correct the student to teacher).Example of a scoring model

4 = Task response is clearly developed, complete, accurate, with complete  sentences for warm-up3 = Task response is clear, fairly complete and accurate, with complete sentences for warm-up2 = Task response is partly developed, but explanation may be muddled1 = Task response is attempted, but may be incomplete0 = Non-scorable response (NSR)

The following are advanced teaching methods for interaction teaching practices: Individual Coaching Language Immersion Virtual Learning Utilising Learning Styles Conducting Research Presenting work Hosting Outside Speakers Varied Assessment Structured Discussion Group Work Reflective learning Practical Learning Role Play Cross-curricular

Advanced Teaching Methods   for the Technology Classroom provides a comprehensive, critical approach to meeting the new challenges of technology in the classroom. Advanced Teaching Methods for the Technology Classroom presents an introduction to teaching educational technology,

design, and engineering. It also contains strategies for innovation by examining the what, why, and how of technology education.Share this:

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Using Target Vocabulary in Speaking Activities

It is equally important that students use the new vocabulary in speaking activities. Three interesting and effective techniques are described below.

 

Quick Discussions

With Gerry's Vocabulary Teacher, you can choose topics for short warm-up discussions using vocabulary under study. The students are in pairs and change partners after each topic. In this exercise, the students are using the vocabulary in a meaningful context. For example, to practise the following vocabulary: torture & subsidize, our class had the following discussions:

Is it acceptable for the police to use torture to get information from prisoners?Should the government subsidize university education?

Quick discussions can cover a variety of topics, including those relating to experience, culture, opinion and personal questions. See the examples below.

Experience - What things have you found it difficult to adapt to in this culture?Culture - What is the most common symbol of your culture, and what does it represent for you?

Opinion - Is violence justifiable in the fight for human rights?Personal - How do you expect learning English will be of benefit to you in your future?

 

Find Someone Who...

The old Find someone who… activity can also be used to effectively review vocabulary, using questions found in Gerry's Vocabulary Teacher. This exercise is helpful in having the students relate the new vocabulary to themselves and to their own experience. Students circulate with their sheet and ask classmates questions to find affirmative answers for the queries below. For example: "Have you had an argument recently?" If someone answers "yes" to a question, they should tell their classmate about it. A "no" answer means the student should ask another classmate. A short example exercise with 5 sentences is shown below.

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Proverbs & Quotations

Proverbs and quotations provide a memorable and thought-provoking review of target vocabulary. Students are given a variety of quotes and/or proverbs from which to choose their favourite and then circulate, explaining to their classmates what it means and why they chose it. Examples of quotes and proverbs found in Gerry's Vocabulary Teacher are shown below. The square brackets indicate words which the software program could remove for a gap-fill exercise using the sentences.

Mother Teresa once noted that kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their [echoes] are truly endless.

As Mickey Mouse once said, [mathematics] is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes.

James Matthew Barrie once remarked that God gave us [memory] so that we might have roses in December.

There is a Chinese proverb which states that he who seeks [revenge] should remember to dig two graves.

A Portuguese proverb notes that visits always give pleasure - if not at the [arrival], then at the departure.

There is a French proverb which observes that children have more need of models than [critics].

There is a Haitian proverb which observes that poor people [entertain] with the heart.

Using the techniques described above, teachers can review and reinforce vocabulary in a variety of ways, help the students develop a greater understanding of vocabulary, and meet with the students' various verbal and non-verbal learning styles.

To Advance Education, We Must First Reimagine SocietyLuba Vangelova | April 1, 2014 | 125 Comments

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Why haven’t education reform efforts amounted to much? Because they start with the

wrong problem, says John Abbott, director of the 21 st   Century Learning Initiative.

Because disaffection with the education system reflects a much deeper societal malaise, it’s

imperative that we first figure out what kind of world we really want: a world populated by

responsible adults who thrive on interdependence and community, or a world of “customers”

who feel dependent on products, services, and authority figures, and don’t take full

responsibility for their actions? The answer, he says, will point to the changes needed in all

three pillars of education — schools, families, and communities.

This is one of Abbott’s primary takeaways from a career spanning more than two decades

of teaching in England, followed by three decades at the helm of an international nonprofit

(begun in the U.S. but now headquartered in England), whose mission is to promote fresh

thinking based on the existing body of research about how children learn. Its findings have

been synthesized into policy briefings, reports, and a book, “Overschooled but

Undereducated: How the crisis in education is jeopardizing our adolescents.” It has also just

published a distillation of its work, called “Battling for the Soul of Education.”

As Abbott sees it, the need for reflection has never been greater. Spurred by technological

advances, “civilization is on the cusp of a metamorphosis,” he says, that will lead either to

societal collapse and chaos, or to a resurgence of liberty, community, and ethics. Either

way, schools are stuck in the past: The emphasis has been on feeding children static

information and rewarding them for doing only what they’re told, instead of helping them

develop the transferable, higher-order skills they need to become life-long learners and

thrive in an uncertain future.

Overhauling the educational paradigm means replacing the metaphor — the concept of the world and its inhabitants as machine-like entities — that has shaped the education system, as well as many other aspects of our culture.

This approach — a product of the Industrial Age, which relied on compliant factory workers

and mass consumption — promotes weakness rather than strength. It has become even

more regimented (and thus more disempowering) in recent years due to a lack of trust.

Adults who feel hard-pressed to predict or control their own destinies, and who feel

confused about the “big issues of life,” Abbott notes, are less willing to give children the time

and space they need to shape their own futures.

Unfortunately, he adds, this approach to education goes against the grain of how young

people learn. Research has confirmed what most parents of young children can already see

for themselves — that children are born to learn, rather than to be taught, as Abbott puts it.

Driven by an inborn desire to make sense of the world and find purpose in life, they

naturally observe, deconstruct, piece together and create their own knowledge. They learn

best when this intrinsic motivation is harnessed in what he calls “highly challenging but low-

threat environments.”

Re-Imagining Society First, Education Second

The bottom line, Abbott notes, is that the current system excels at preparing children to be

dependent “customers,” so if we hope to instead create a world of responsible, community-

minded adults, we need to overhaul the educational paradigm. That means replacing the

metaphor — the concept of the world and its inhabitants as machine-like entities — that has

shaped the education system, as well as many other aspects of our culture. Because

humans are not machines, a reliance on this metaphor has created a large disconnect

between people’s actual lives and their inherited expectations and predispositions, which

lies at the root of many inter-related modern challenges, says Abbott.

His recommendation: Start by re-examining our collective

values and envision a society where individuals once again matter. Clues to a more suitable

paradigm can be found in the metaphors that characterize the dynamic, networked

Information Age. These share some key characteristics with the pre-industrial past, when

people learned in the community, from a variety of adults with whom they built relationships.

Learning continued over the course of a lifetime filled with meaningful work (in contrast to

today’s high unemployment rates and low workplace engagement levels), and success was

judged by whether a person carried out his or her fair share of responsibilities within the

community.

All of these elements have a direct bearing on education. “Such a vision is as essential to

motivate whole generations of young people to delight in the development of their

intellectual powers, as it is to create an adult society that is able — and willing — to devote

quite enormous amounts of its energy to the slow, fascinating, if sometimes frustrating but

totally essential, task of inducting all its young people into adulthood,” Abbott has written on

the Initiative’s web site.

“Children learn most from what they see going on around them,” he explains. “We become

who we are based on things around us that we admire or not. Children don’t just turn their

brains on when they go to school.”

Therefore a young child is dealt “a shattering blow to its sense of order and purpose when a

parent it loves and admires is made redundant …. Too much of that, and the web of life is

shattered, and life becomes a crap game where the lasting lesson is take all you can, and

put nothing back.”

Creating “Collaborative Learning Communities”

“It is essential to view learning as a total community responsibility,” he says, and to expect

no short cuts. Children need to be integrated, fully contributing members of the broader

community, so they can feel useful and valued. (It is not just the children who need this, he

adds; healthy communities also need children.)

On a practical level, the most powerful lever for change, Abbott says, is people coming

together to “rethink the role of community in the learning process,” agreeing how to divide

up responsibilities among professional teachers and other community members, and then

launching small pilot projects that are true to their new vision. These efforts will build on

each other, he says, and large-scale change will follow.

o

o How Can Teachers Prepare Kids for a Connected World?

He cautions against simply copying a specific model that worked elsewhere — each

community must figure out what’s best, given its unique circumstances. But he is convinced

of one thing: The formal school system needs to be “turned upside down and inside out.” It

should be based on the biological system of weaning — i.e., gradually reducing children’s

dependence on teachers. Teacher-student ratios should be high in the early years, then

decrease dramatically in adolescence, when “the whole community has to become a place

of learning,” with mentorships, apprenticeships and other hands-on learning experiences

complementing highly self-directed classroom learning.

Teachers as Guides

In general, schools should move away from “an overemphasis on teaching,” Abbott says,

and instead view teachers as imaginative, knowledgeable guides. “Any kid can read a

textbook — they don’t need a teacher standing over them telling them to do so,” he points

out. “They need teachers to inspire them to think about things in a much bigger way than

they’ve done before.”

John Abbott

He cites an example from his time as a substitute teacher, when he found himself assigned

to teach history to a class of 15-year-olds one afternoon. Casting about for inspiration, he

expressed an interest in a student’s book about prisoners of war. When the boy asked him

why wars get started, Abbott used the question as a launching pad for a discussion on the

topic. He urged the students to consider not only what they’d been taught in school, but also

what they’d gleaned from relatives. “It went so well,” he recalls, “that no one heard the bell

ring.”

Twenty years later, while waiting for a train during the time of the Falklands War, he was

approached by a porter who said he recognized him as the teacher of that class. It had

opened his eyes, the man added, to how wars can serve politicians’ careers, and he had

referenced it in a discussion with friends the previous evening. “At the end of my history

lesson, something had stuck,” Abbott notes, “so that 20 years later, he remembered how

between us we had constructed an explanation for the Second World War.”

Simply following a lesson plan wouldn’t have had the same result. “I don’t think teachers

should be over prepared for any particular lesson,” he says, “because if they are, they lack

flexibility to adapt to where the children are in their understanding.”

Lastly, in this vision of the world, our expectations of children would also be recalibrated.

Rather than being considered the age at which people start to become independent

learners, 18 (and even younger in some cases) should be viewed as the age when young

people “demonstrate that they have already perfected that art, and know how to exercise

this responsibly,” says Abbott.

Related

How Can Teachers Prepare Kids for a Connected World?

Are We Taking Our Students' Work Seriously Enough?

Wish List: Piecing Together an Ideal School From the Ground Up

Why Some Teachers May Question 'New' Education Trends

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dvanced Teaching Techniques to Improve Your Teaching StyleBy Matthew Hohn

Teaching is a profession that is considered to be loved by many. Each year we can see a large number of education students that graduates on their chosen course. But while it is possible for one to graduate in an education course, not everyone has the talent or gift of teaching. Suffice to say, teaching is a profession that is not for everyone. Teachers always finds a way to improve their teaching techniques so that their lesson

reaches their students in a more effective way. If you find that your teaching style doesn't seem to reach your audience, then maybe it is time that you makes some changes or adjustments. Fortunately there are many ways which can help you improve your teaching style.

Learn to research the current trends in teaching. It is highly possible that your teaching style is obsolete and that could be the reason why you're having difficulties connecting to your audience. Many educational organizations are consistently producing research materials like articles and newsletters about the current trend in teaching. You can integrate these trends into your own teaching style and how it goes.

If you are a new graduate in education, then the lack experience is your greatest hurdle when it comes to teaching your students. In order to make up for your lack of experience, you can opt to attend continuing education classes that can help you learn about teaching techniques. Inquire from your local college or university if such an option is available for you.

Collaborate with your colleagues so that you can help each other out. An advice from a seasoned teacher is considered to be an invaluable information that can certainly help you improve your teaching style. Or you can also choose to observe them while they teach their classes for some ideas that you can assimilate. You can also ask them to observe you while you teach so that they can provide constructive criticisms that can help improve your teaching style.

When it comes to teaching styles, while it is certainly a well accepted idea to stick with whatever style that works but it tends to get obsolete and students would find it boring. So as a teacher, do not hesitate to try something new if you think that it will improve your overall teaching style. Continue to evolve your teaching style.

Make good use of the technology that is available to you. Modern technology has allowed teaching to be more convenient for teachers. One good example is to take advantage of various multimedia devices like Multi-Touch touch screen, multimedia projectors and

holographic projection. This does not only make things convenient for you, it also makes your lecture interesting for modern students.

As it is mentioned before, not everyone can be good with teaching. But at least there are ways for you in order to improve your own teaching style or develop your own. For all teachers, being more effective in the profession is a goal that is worth pursuing.