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3 Teaching Ideas Whose Time Have Come
by Art Titzel

Think about the following questions as if you were an 8th grade teacher in 2001:


● How would you “break down the classroom walls” to allow for asynchronous learning?

● How would you create a learning environment where students not only learn from you and a textbook, but from their peers and experts from around the world?

● How would you make learning relevant for your students?

● How would you make homework more meaningful, yet less stressful for students and parents alike?

● How would you structure your classroom time to focus more on active learning activities rather than passively delivering content?

My guess is that your answers would be very innovative and educationally sound. The point is if I could time travel back to 1901, and ask the same questions, I doubt the answers would be drastically different. Yes, the 2001 answers would likely include the use of computers for educational software like Oregon Trail, but that would be the extent of digital technology available to transform the classroom in 2001. Most of your other ideas would likely be understandable for a progressive 1901 teacher to implement in their class.

As a reader of this blog I am sure you are aware of the digital revolution that has taken place since 2001. In that year Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was a student at Exeter Prep spending his spare time flipping through the pages of Exeter’s student directory, “The Facebook.” Your phone wouldn’t help you take a picture of your favorite band playing in concert. Your teenager would most likely call their friends rather than text them, since text capable cell phones were just hitting the market by 2001.

Fast forward 10 years and much has changed that require all teachers to recognize that the way they taught in 2001 was not that much different than a teacher teaching in 1901. The world has changed in ways that require teachers to make fundamental changes in how they teach. These changes revolve around the digital revolution that has untethered ordinary people to publish, communicate, and collaborate in ways that were impossible in 2001. Just think, 8th graders entering the classroom this fall were preschoolers in 2001. Since then they have grown up with YouTube, texting, and multiplayer video games, which have made their world instant and available. They expect to use technology in a personal and social way.

So, here are 3 teaching ideas whose time have come:

Get Social

In an offline sense students need to do more of the following: talk, debate, question, share, and disagree. Students need to spend more time talking in class than the teacher. In an online sense students need to be connected with one another and the teacher 24/7. Learning doesn’t stop when students walk away from school so why shut the door on students by denying them tools to talk, debate, question, share and disagree about classroom content outside of school. They will be doing those things on Facebook, their cellphones and when playing video games, so why not leverage those connections for academic purposes? Teachers also need to help students connect with other students and content experts from around the world. Doing otherwise should be considered educational malpractice.

How would you “break down the classroom walls” to allow for asynchronous learning?

● Traditional Course Management Systems, like Blackboard and Moodle, are no longer enough to make learning authentically social and to effectively transform the classroom from a teacher centered content delivery space to a student centered learning and experimentation space. Students need access to educational social networks (I prefer the term learning network) so they can talk, debate, question, share, and disagree with one another at any time of the day or night. Examples of educational social networks include: Edmodo, Collaborize Classroom, and Schoology. In addition, students should be able to use Facebook, Twitter, and any number of apps to help them learn inside or outside of school. Educators need to give students the freedom to choose the right tools for them to learn (more on this in the Getting Personal section).

How would you create a learning environment where students not only learn from you and a textbook, but from their peers and experts from around the world?

● The first requirement is for teachers to approach teaching as a good coach would approach their athletic team. They prepare and instruct, but give their players plenty of individual and group practice with a lot of feedback. They realize the value of scrimmages as a way to put their players in a game like situation in order to prepare them for the season. Teachers need to step away from the front of the classroom and let their students do the talking, writing, and debating. When students use Skype to connect with other classrooms or experts, they are “scrimmaging” their own future by practicing social skills with total strangers and creating meaningful learning connections that were impossible just a few years ago. Students should also discover the value of Twitter as a connection to people they don’t know, but who are interesting or knowledgeable. Knowing the ins and outs of Twitter will only make learning in a connected age easier and more productive. In short, teachers (and school systems) need to be open and flexible for opportunities to connect students to the world.


Get Personal

The technology is now easily available for students to create their own personal learning environment. In a sense they already have created one by using Facebook, YouTube, Grooveshark, Shelfari, and any number of other special interest websites and apps. In addition, students commonly communicate by texting one another. Instead of decrying the decline of proper grammar educators need to teach to the way that the world works today, not teach to the way the world worked in the past. Teaching different forms of communication and when it is appropriate to use each form is a new essential skill students will need to use to navigate through their personal, school, and professional lives. Banning cell phones in school does nothing to teach students this new responsibility. Providing student access to tools that make sense for their learning style and keeping academic standards high should result in higher achievement due to a mix of increased motivation and expectations.

How would you make learning relevant for your students?

● Learning can be made more relevant for students by teaching them how to self-reflect from an early age. A self-reflective student will more likely understand how they learn best and have an easier time creating a personal learning environment that works for them. Schools will then need to open up access to tools for students to use in their personal learning environment. Once students have created their personal learning environment, teachers need to allow students to use their environment to learn. This means that classes become less teacher centered and more student centered and more relevant for the student. Students no longer can just “play” school by answering all the correct answers for their “A”. Life is not about answering all the questions correctly on a test, or even writing a well-organized 5 paragraph essay. Students need to be able to use their environment to their best advantage and be adaptable to new technologies and new ways of doing things. The old way of “playing school” fails to prepare students for the reality of our rapidly changing world.


Get Flipped

Getting flipped is not as bad as it may seem. There are no obscene gestures here! Simply stated when a teacher flips their classroom they assign what they normally do in class for homework, and normally assigned homework becomes classwork. The reason this is now possible is because the technology has finally caught up with good teaching practice. By using screen recording software and flip cameras teachers are now able to post course content online for students to access outside of school. Instead of showing a video in class teachers can now easily assign students to watch the video on YouTube, Safari Montage, or any number of other video hosting sites. The passive learning time is transferred to home, while time is spent in class actively reviewing content and making individual connections for the students.

How would you make homework more meaningful, yet less stressful for students and parents alike?, and How would you structure your classroom time to focus more on active learning activities rather than passively delivering content?

● By flipping the class homework becomes more meaningful because it truly prepares students for actual learning. If students struggle to understand the content presented online they have opportunities to ask their peers questions in forums and chat. When the teacher reviews the forum or chat transcript prior to class they will be keyed into problem areas that will be reviewed during class. This model mostly eliminates the frustration that many parents feel when the content is unfamiliar, since the content is explained online. Little written work is required since that will be accomplished in class and under the supervision of the teacher. Finally, when a teacher flips their class they no longer have to concern themselves with the possibility that homework was done by an older sibling or someone other than the student. The homework just prepares the student for the actual learning that takes place in the classroom (and is then extended beyond the classroom).

Ten years ago few people predicted the profound changes that were on the immediate horizon. Children growing up during this period take for granted the changes that took place as they were growing up. As an adult that remembers rotary phones and milk delivery, I am excited by the possibility these changes have brought about. For the first time in history an ordinary person can talk to the great minds of the age, publish their own work for the world to view, and work with people around the world to solve global problems. This is why we need to get social, get personal, and get flipped. However, if schools block access to authentic tools that can be used for learning then how are we to prepare students to be global citizens in the 21st century. We might as well ban the use of globes as a tool for learning about the world...oh, sorry, that already happened 500 years ago.

Please feel free to comment on this post. I encourage an open and frank dialogue about the ideas contained in any of my writings. My next post will focus on how I get my students to become social learners. Future posts will follow-up on the getting personal and getting flipped ideas from this post.

 

About Art

Art Titzel teaches 8th grade American Cultures at Hershey Middle School in Pennsylvania. He is interested in how access to social and digital media can transform teaching and learning by allowing students to create their own personal learning environment. Also, of interest, is how digital learning can best be used to make the study of history relevant and engaging for all learners. Mr. Titzel earned his B.S. in Secondary Education from Penn State University in 1992, an M.A. in American Studies from Penn State-Harrisburg in 2001, and is currently in the process of earning an M.S. in Learning Technologies from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Follow him on Twitter at @titzel.