Through my own experiences and helping my students learn, I have come to learn that this big L word is a complex process. Learning involves identifying misconceptions, building the depth of your understanding, and transferring that understanding to solve problems. Although there is no “best practice” there are more effective ways of learning and understanding. Before learning can occur you have to establish what your misconceptions are. If you think this is a miss able step, you are sadly mistaken. We all have misconceptions that may even be quite deeply rooted. For example, until recently I believed bees, hornets, bumblebees, and wasps all die after they sting…
That is not the case.
To fully understand and deepen your knowledge, these misconceptions need to be identified, researched, and rerouted. Learning is a process not a product. Learning should be an always changing, active discovery of new concepts and skills.
In order to become a teacher you must become a lifelong learner. This helps me understand how learning happens and how I can support my learners in my classroom. The concept of trial and error and the willingness to fail is key (all my fellow stubborn folk know this can be difficult). This allows for the process of metacognition to happen. When I begin thinking about my thinking there are many mindsets that I see through.
These top 4 essential mindsets resonate with me when considering my grade level, personality, and current strengths or weaknesses.
1. Critical thinker to ask questions and take ownership of my thoughts. This develops skills that help me grow as an educator and also as person.
2. Willingness to fail mindset is a mindset that I wish to embody as a model for my students. If this is what I expect from my students as learners, it is important I model that behavior. “Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process” (Iste Standards, 2017). In order to integrate technology and the ever-changing world that it exists in, I need to have the ability to TRY, test, and redefine. With that, having an elastic mind in order to have a growth mindset within my students and myself.
3. A positive mindset is often seen as one of my strengths. I tend to figure things out after some exploration. I keep an open and positive mindset for teaching students with varied ideas. This is essential because of the variety of students I interact with.
4. Lastly, having a resilient mindset especially as a technology confidant. When something is difficult or a student is difficult... not giving up and instead persevering through the difficulties.
So then there is this concept of transfer. My ultimate goal is to become this accomplished novice in the field of education technology. Some may use the word expert however, according to Donovan, Bransford, and Pellegrino (2000) “expertise can sometimes hurt teaching because many experts forget what is easy and what is difficult for students.” Like I said earlier, my belief in teaching revolves around me being a lifelong learner. I am constantly learning new things and when I can transfer knowledge from my initial understanding around a subject to the new learning, it is more likely that it will stick. The stronger the transfer process, the deeper the knowledge. As a learner, we should be aiming for the depth of knowledge as opposed to the breadth of knowledge.
I am currently apart of a program that focuses on educational technologies. I see myself as a learner and a supporter of learners so that I can “embrace and anticipate constant change and evolution.” (Richardson & Dixon, 2017, p.7)
Technology has this ability to amplify learning and deepen your knowledge base. Technology is often referred to as making life more efficient. It speeds up the process at the grocery store, quickens my research on a topic, and can allow easy communication amongst my family (who live all over the country). However, in education it’s important to remember that effectiveness should always outweigh the efficiencies.
Continued Thoughts:
How can I make technology an effective amplification of learning within my classroom?
With that, what does the balance of screen time in the classroom look like?
References
Donovan, M. S., Bransford, J. D., & Pellegrino, J. W. (1999). How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. National Academy Press.
ISTE Standards for STUDENTS. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students
Richardson, W., Dixon, B. (2017). 10 Principles for Schools of Modern Learning. Modern Learners, 1-8.
Commentaires