For most
University students, this week has been filled with papers, tests and very
heavy academic assessments. After 3 years of this routine, I finally feel as
though I “get it” understanding exactly how much time I need to complete
assignments, the importance of keeping a healthy body and mind, and in turn the
importance of sleep. This; however, has taken me 3 years of late nights,
caffeine boosts and stress break downs to learn. Speaking to a few of my first
year friends about their midterms, stress and feelings towards the first set of
assessments I can really see the confusion and different schools of thought in
terms of how to accurately prepare.
Now you may be
thinking, “what does this have to do with EDUC4P19?” but I promise that there
is a connection. Looking at how prepared or unprepared students are for these
big assessments, I am realizing the strong importance of “big picture”
“lifelong” skills that are coming out of the “New Story of Education.” This week
we were asked to read a chapter of Interweaving
Curriculum and Classroom Assessment that focuses on “Exploring Inquiry and
Interdisciplinary Models” of education. I was impressed with the different
models of inquiry that made it possible for students to be central in their own
learning. I’ve always been aware of very different schools, in which; for
instance, there are no lessons and rather students become their own teachers on
their own terms. But these schools are so drastically different from the “Old
Story” that I was brought up in. Looking at the Inquiry learning model and
interdisciplinary model that are so central to the narrative of this textbook,
it is so wonderful to see how you can integrate student centered learning into
a classroom at a generic school.
The focus of the
“new story” Inquiry learning model is to “go where the kids interests are”
(Drake et al. 97). In doing so, students are working with concepts and ideas
that are interesting to them. By doing something they are passionate about students
begin to enjoy learning in ways that many would have never dreamed. By starting
learning with major research questions that are multifaceted in their “answers”
and therefore they have the capability to become the expert, lead their own
education and act as an “expert” in their field.
In this “New
Story” of education, I am interested in not only HOW students learn, but also
WHAT they are learning. In terms of content learned this goes way beyond the
math equations, literary devices or scientific processes. WHAT students are
learning is more than that. Students are learning how to guide their own
education and learning skills that should follow them throughout the rest of
their life. In creating portfolios for example in their Inquiry based learning projects,
students set deadlines, topics of interest, organizational techniques and many
other life skills that; in my opinion, are far more important than the content
of the subjects. If students learn life skills, organizational skills, how to
regulate themselves etc, they will be set up to succeed in “real life” when
they have to be self sufficient and lead their own inquiry.
Connection time!
Remember those stressed out students I talked about at the beginning of my
blog? My question is this, did their education thus far allow for self
sufficient, developed learning? Did their “story” of education fall into the
new or old? Did they get to learn life skills from their experiences, or was it
just content that they may have already forgotten? There is so much more to
school than just classes. There is so much potential for life learning,
experimentation and the ability to succeed and fail in a controlled and
nurturing environment. If a student has been able to experience, and learn
about themselves during this time I believe that as they grow and develop,
entering the “real world” will not be as much of a shock. As teachers are we
educating our students only on the teachable that we have mastered? In my mind
education is so much more than English, Math, Science or Geography. It is
development for life, for success and for the student.
Allyson – I am totally in agreement with your “vision” of education. The fact that I was able to write Chapter 4 based on real world schools shows that such a vision is possible. If you want to know what students learn in these schools go to Inquiry Hub and you can find some samples. Or follow David Truss’s blog for a glimpse at a 21st Century educator. There are so many wonderful examples out there of great education that prepares students for life… that it is sad really there are still so many classroom preparing students for the test/grades and STRESS!
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