Dang! Talk about some valuable information! The entire section on using technology, field trips, guest speakers, etc., was fantastic! I remember when I was young, and we took a field trip to visit Lincoln's Cabin in Springfield. It was a fun trip, but it wasn't educational. I didn't notice at the time, but I've thought about it recently. Just last year, my oldest daughter took the same field trip. When I asked her what she learned, she didn't have much to say. There was no discussion afterward, no real take-aways. It was like the whole point of the field trip was to just go somewhere new.
It's important for us as teachers to remember that everything can be a lesson. Field trips aren't just fun outings, they're a way to teach something new. Guest speakers are a great way to let the students interact with experts on certain topics. When it comes to guest speakers, they can be effective if done right. I think it's important to prep students on what they're going to hear about, discuss some of the preconceived ideas about the topic, and encourage students to ask questions. It's just as important to bring in a guest speaker that can help to facilitate this process seamlessly, so that the guest speaker becomes a part of the lesson and not just an off-topic lecture.
Lastly, I really enjoyed reading about the various philosophies of teaching. To me, the teaching methods seemed to just be a reflection of the kind of person the teacher is. If they lecture a lot, maybe they don't like challenges or maybe they just like to talk a lot. It was interesting to see this type of philosophy related to what the teacher seeks from the students. In the case of lecturing, the instructor is seeking to introduce new ideas into the subconscious. That's a different way of looking at it than I had previously thought. It helps to explain why lecturing can be an effective tool sometimes as well; it helps to introduce new ideas. It doesn't mean we can't discuss them, just that the material needs to be taught before it can be discussed. Yes, I know this is combining the two ideas.
Really, the cognitive-experimental does seem to incorporate these two ideas though. I think that's why I related so much to that. This style allows for so much variation in teaching strategy, and allows the students to really grasp those "big picture" ideas as opposed to just remembering whatever the teacher said. It's interesting to think about the classes I've enjoyed the most/least, and compare the teaching style to these philosophies. It makes me realize a lot more about myself than I had expected going into this chapter.
Poor Sam. I'm commenting a second time on this chapter, after watching Panopto, and learning that we aren't supposed to comment on a site that's already been spoken on. I was just finishing on chapter one, when up popped another speaker, so I posted it anyway, but headed on to Chapter #2.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I can remember a trip to Springfield, and New Salem. It's sad when the most exciting part of a field trip is going to the cheesy gift shop to buy overpriced junk. There was never any interaction. It was more an excuse to spend a day away from school, ride the bus, and goof off. The teachers were just as bored as we were, and there was never any assessment of the trip, after coming home.
Now let's juxtapose that against my last field trip, to the Abraham Lincoln Museum, in Springfield. My Novice Cooperating teacher, from last semester called me, and had scheduled a day trip, and asked if I'd mind chaperoning for the day. I was excited about seeing him again, and getting to hang with the classes that I'd taught. This trip, from start to finish, was a learning experience. It was taken on a tour bus, rather than a yellow school bus. It had a microphone, so the hosting teacher was able to familiarize the students with what we were doing, what was expected of them, and our timelines. We were each given groups of students, and each student was given a fifty question paper, in which they had to locate the answers, throughout the museum. There was almost no possible way for them to not see every part of the building, as the questions covered everything, and asked their opinions, thoughts, and feelings about different dioramas, scenes, films and artifacts. His assessment was made by how well they had answered the question. Believe it or not, those kids had the best time, and made it a game to find the answers to the questions that he had posed. The next day, in class, they had discussion on everything from slavery, to war, to the stress of Presidential office. I'm sure that those kids will remember that trip for a lifetime.
So in closing, a lot of our efficacy as teachers, is going to come from what we make of the situations that we're given. It will fall to us to ensure that our kids stay engaged, entranced, and interested. No matter what the experience is, in the classroom our out, we, as educators, have the ability to either make it a learning experience, or something (as in Sams field trip) that they'd rather forget, and no doubt, will.
Sam - I liked what you said that everything can be a lesson. I think this is so true for us as teachers to remember - everything can be a learning opportunity. The point of field trips should be for students to have an educational opportunity that the wouldn't have otherwise gotten in the classroom. I also believe that it is valuable to see things in real life and not only read about them in textbooks, but I also believe that there should be a lesson that goes along with every field trip a class goes on. For me, I remember going to see plays when I was in middle school. Instead of pairing this field trip with a lesson on drama in literature class, we simply went to the play for apparently no other reason except to watch the play. I think this would have been a cool opportunity to learn and teach about how plays function and my students could learn more about drama.
ReplyDeleteI think that having a rationale for everything you do in a classroom is extremely important for occasions such as field trips. I also think that having a rationale helps you defend why you do what you do in the classroom to school boards, parents, and students.