First things first: what I learned or in this case, confirmation of what I already knew in education. This text showed confirmation of what I already knew in education--the importance of hands-on learning. This was as important then as it is now. In order for students to have meaningful learning experiences, we must allow them to learn through experience. We have to allow our students opportunities to learn through play. Just as the book said, they are “learning what they live, and living what they learn.” This text also confirmed the importance of specific best practices in order for learners to succeed. Aside from hands-on learning, I know the importance of engaging learners in purposeful activities, making real-world connections, and providing a positive culture. As educators, we must provide these best practices to students so that they can be the best versions of themselves and to be future-ready learners. Students must be engaged in purposeful activities that connect to the real-world all while providing them a positive classroom environment. Without these, students won’t be future-ready learners. My favorite quote from the book supports this practice of students engaging in purposeful activities that connect to the real-world: “We must teach them how to think, not what to think.” Providing them these engaging and purposeful activities that connect to the real-world allows them for just that. They’re able to learn how to think for themselves and be future ready-learners, rather than learning what to think.
Next, this book discussed the importance of education and what it means. It discussed how education came to be and how it got there. After reading the text and discussing with our class, education is the key to success in the world, whether that leads someone to become a doctor, educator, or artist. We are the reason behind other practices in the world. We bring together communities, identify the needs of the communities, and provide them resources to succeed.
Finally, how will this impact my practice as an educator? Just as it did with my previous blog post on teachers as designers, what I learned or confirmed through reading The Saber-tooth Curriculum will allow me to be intentional with my teaching. When designing and implementing lessons, I will make sure students are provided opportunities to engage in purposeful activities, hands-on learning, and connections to the real-world all while providing them a positive classroom environment. I will provide my students with meaningful experiences that will allow them to learn how to think for themselves, rather than learn what to think.
The Saber-tooth Curriculum provided great topics for self-reflection that confirmed my thoughts on education, the importance of best practices in education, and how all of these will impact my practice.
Angelica,
ReplyDeleteReading Sabertooth Curriculum and this week reading Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning it gives a more in depth picture of how education as gotten away from the "hands on learning" that students need in order to be members of society. Teaching now is a google slide of information that we regurgitate to the kids and expect them to remember it. Back in my day (oi that was rough to say) we had more hands on learning, whatever we were studying helped make a direct correlation into what we were doing physically. Some of my best memories from high school are when my English and History class were team taught, what we were reading in English we were also learning about in History so you could understand the background knowledge of what you were reading. Being able to link subjects together to make it more concrete learning for students I think is the way to go.
Julie
Hands on learning is so incredibly important for our students. If we just tell them how to do something, it will probably go in one year and out the other. Our students need to experience their learning in real world problems.
ReplyDelete