What will happen if you place a single computer workstation with free access to the World Wide Web in a wall so that 'unschooled' children can access it?
In the "Hole-in-the-Wall" project, Sugata Mitra discovered that kids in Delhi, India could and would teach themselves how to use such a tool. No instructions, no teachers, no supervision. The experiment has since been repeated many times and now Sugata Mitra's LIFT talk is available via TED...
In some ways, this self-teaching reminds me of Greg Mortenson stumbling upon students carrying on with their lessons absent of teachers in remote Pakistan. Greg's chronicle of his mission to build schools for these students is chronicled in "Three Cups of Tea".
This peer-teaching and self-learning isn't what you might expect to find when teachers leave their North American classrooms... I wonder why that is?
Showing posts with label experiment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experiment. Show all posts
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Are you a Cruise Director?
Recent posts by David Warlick, Andy Gibson, and Ewan McIntosh are all reminding me of a problem I have with the teaching profession: namely, the job title!
Usually, it is the layout and tools of the traditional classroom that reinforces the model of education I've come to resent: 'one where information is transmitted from teacher to student'. But, even the very word 'teacher', implies that one is responsible for the transmission of knowledge to the other. It almost makes me want to jump ship!
Extending the metaphor: If your classroom were a ship, with the students as passengers, what role would you play? The ship's captain? A steward? Chief purser? The navigator? In the best case, educators are co-learners who can model learning on a daily basis, while providing engaging experiences for their clients. With many pre-determined destinations, I suspect that the best teachers will play many roles, not the least of which, would be that of 'cruise director'.
I have an observation experiment for you:
Try a 'ship's captain walkabout'. Tour the decks of a school as an observer, while limiting your attention to the feet of the 'passengers'. Take my word for it... and just try it. I suspect that in a given tour, your observations will tell you much about how engaged (or disengaged) the learners are! If the feet are active, I suspect that there is a good chance you're looking at the classroom of a cruise director and co-learner.
Too Funny! True oral exam stories are shared on tonight's 8 minute episode of the Teacher 2.0 Podcast: "Tale of the Tell-Tale Toes".
Photo Credits: Savannah Grandfather, Billie/PartsnPieces
Usually, it is the layout and tools of the traditional classroom that reinforces the model of education I've come to resent: 'one where information is transmitted from teacher to student'. But, even the very word 'teacher', implies that one is responsible for the transmission of knowledge to the other. It almost makes me want to jump ship!
Extending the metaphor: If your classroom were a ship, with the students as passengers, what role would you play? The ship's captain? A steward? Chief purser? The navigator? In the best case, educators are co-learners who can model learning on a daily basis, while providing engaging experiences for their clients. With many pre-determined destinations, I suspect that the best teachers will play many roles, not the least of which, would be that of 'cruise director'.
I have an observation experiment for you:
Try a 'ship's captain walkabout'. Tour the decks of a school as an observer, while limiting your attention to the feet of the 'passengers'. Take my word for it... and just try it. I suspect that in a given tour, your observations will tell you much about how engaged (or disengaged) the learners are! If the feet are active, I suspect that there is a good chance you're looking at the classroom of a cruise director and co-learner.Too Funny! True oral exam stories are shared on tonight's 8 minute episode of the Teacher 2.0 Podcast: "Tale of the Tell-Tale Toes".
Photo Credits: Savannah Grandfather, Billie/PartsnPieces
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