As a student, I was exposed to the conventional mode of classroom
teaching for most of my primary and middle school. In the high school,
I had laboratory hours for science courses and some of the project
work was collaborative as they were assigned to small teams. In
undergraduate courses, similar trend continued with most of the
learning highly dependent on individual efforts in class assignments
and tests. When I reflect now, I definitely appreciate the effort and
dedication of the teachers but realize that the only part of learning
that mattered was what stayed with me long after I graduated and moved
on to professional life. It’s the chapters that fancied my
imaginations, the intangibles like being open to new ideas and
constructive thinking and the lessons that held my interest and pushed
me to learn more even when the grades have been posted. That’s what
comes close to some of the author’s thoughts on meaningful learning
and I am completely in agreement with them.
As a teacher, I felt that the students are better equipped than before
and as such can keep themselves well informed and practiced. I taught
software tools and processes and realized that the learning becomes
meaningful when the students apply their newly found skills on real
world projects. I also observed the benefits of collaborative learning
first-hand as a teacher. Much to my surprise, my students communicated
effectively, learnt from mistakes and tutored others in their team and
made the process remarkably efficient without getting unduly
distracted. I also reevaluated the role of a modern teacher who needs
to be more of a coordinator or facilitator and adapt to the changing
needs of the students.
I'm curious if the curriculum at the Computer center where you worked helped facilitate the constructivist, collaborative learning that your kids engaged in - and/or if it was more about the way you chose to enact it?
ReplyDeleteI taught Computer aided courses for pre-K and middle-school classes. The course objectives were quite different but I found that the tools that I used generated significant enthusiasm and a genuine interest in the classroom. In pre-K, I was taking language classes with small kids and using educational games software as an illustration. After the course, I couldn't come across a better way to teach the class without those softwares. It kept them engaged and delivered the results over and above my expectations.
ReplyDeleteIn middle school, I was teaching tools like PhotoShop and Illustrator and there the software itself was the primary course objective. In both situations, I realized that the right use of technology helped students to a great extent to collaborate and improvise in the spirit of Constructivist learning.