Saturday, June 6, 2015
Educational Myths'
Of the educational myths that were in our content folder, the one that surprised me the least was the learning styles. I actually vividly remember my algebra teacher in high school tell a student to stop making ridiculous excuses for their lack of effort. The student was doing poorly in the class and he talked to the teacher after class and said that he is a visual learner and he can't succeed in the class because there was too much lecturing. The teacher said there's no such thing as a visual learner and thats when I stopped making similar excuses in other classes. I realized that saying I'm doing poorly in a class because its not hands-on is an excuse. The article on how much we remember was actually both surprised me and didn't surprise me at the same time. The fact that the percentages of what we remember were not credible was not surprising because I think the only reason we remember such a high percentage of what we teach/do is because we have thought about the information and processed it so much that we will remember it. Just because I don't teach someone else doesn't mean I will remember less of what we learned. I never gave it much thought beyond that but I'm not surprised that those percentages hold no weight. What surprised me was how wide spread misinformation is. I would have never guessed there were so many examples of percentage theories like those that were essentially made up. As for a solution to these myths, I think we should look at them the same way I looked at the learning styles. I think we need to stop allowing students to use these as excuses for not performing well. I think there are more than enough opportunities to receive extra help in any subject and making a claim that you aren't able to learn by listening isn't constructive. The students need to push themselves through school rather than be dragged across the finish line.
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I would agree that students can often peg themselves as not being able to understand or learn a specific topic because they are a "specific learning style." I am glad that your teacher came out and told you that this thinking is just an excuse. So often our students believe the stereo types that they are labeled as, (jock, nerd, etc.) and so labels become a security blanket that the look to find comfort in. What they don't understand that they are hindering their growth by assuming that they are a visual learner, or etc. I hear all the time from students that they are not interested in history because it happened a "million years ago" and has no affect on them now. I get so frustrated when I hear this phrase simply because the past defines the present, and shapes it still to this day.
ReplyDeleteThat is when teachers pullout videos, or movies for the students. They assume many times that this media is connecting with the students, and allowing the past to come alive. While it is a handy tool to have access to students need to experience history to a certain extent. What I mean is that students need to understand the human component and place themselves at times into the shoes of those who have come before us. Have them think about what would happen if they chose to stay loyal to the thrown of England during the American Revolution. What type of consequences could or would happen to them and their family? Technology can be an asset but do not just play movies allow the students to interact with the subject through technology though.
Yes! So many times Social Studies classrooms resort to showing movies without really delving into what they are studying. I know in high school, this was done all the time. For example, we watched The Grapes of Wrath my sophomore year the second day of the unit...We had an overview the first day and then just watched the movie. Something else I've seen overused in the Social Studies classroom is Jeopardy. Granted, I think if done right, this "game" can be a great review/study tool, however it is used a lot to make the topic/subject more interesting. Yet, much like "PowerPoint" after a few times, it gets a little boring. I think we need a mix of tools in the Social Studies classroom because there are a lot of great ideas to make history "come to life."
DeleteI could not agree more about the jeopardy game being overused. I don't think its a bad way to encourage memorization or learning but I do think it allows kids to check out after you start and just play the game rather than using it as a chance to learn the material. I also agree with your point about things getting a little monotonous after a few times. I think a key would be to continually rotate through different things/games/deliveries to keep students engaged.
DeleteThe concept of gamifying 'reviews' is a problem because of the fact that if the review is that important, the initial learning experience was ineffective! When kids say they (the games) help, it's because a) the initial experience was bad, and/or b) they purposefully ignore the learning and work initially knowing that if they just pay attention on the last day or so, they can manage!
DeleteAs for movies, I rarely showed them in my latter years. Perhaps a clip here and there (or an absence), but I had a disdain for them. Any claims of 'making the content relevant' could easily be debunked by videotaping the students' attentiveness during the movie. (And don't get me started about movie worksheets...)
I feel so silly for buying into these "learning style myths." Just as you said, Branden, it amazes me how information can be so widely spread, yet have no evidence to back it up. I have even had discussions in GVSU classrooms about certain learning styles and how to teach incorporating different styles. By reading the article and having certain discussions, it makes sense that labeling a student is not the correct way to teach them. Students need a wide array of techniques in the classroom. I think this applies to the use of technology as well. You cannot teach everything via smartboard, yet you cannot expect students to be fully engaged with paper and pencil throughout the hour(s). I think that a good teacher uses a variety of styles and incorporates many different tools in their classrooms. They find what works, and when something doesn't work, they modify it to work. I've seen one too many times either the teacher who sticks to the "script" and uses the same three lessons year after year, or the teacher who tries to implement the newest technology, tool, etc. and it goes horribly, yet they continue to use it because it's the new trend in the classroom. I think it comes down to trying new things, but making sure they work in your classroom and for your students. If they aren't, then what's the point?
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in my previous comment to your reply, it is important to keep things fresh so students don't feel the need to check out due to boredom. As you said it is the teacher's job to make adjustments to make things fit in their classroom and also adjust to the needs of the students. There is an unlimited amount of ways to bring things into your classroom regarding delivery but when it allows students to check out or play a game rather than focus on material then it becomes a problem.
DeleteI agree 100%! So what to you guys think of stations in the classroom? I interned at a school in a learning disabilities classroom and they did stations all the time! There were only 5 students in the class so there was only one student at every station, but three of the five stations were iPad applications. The students had free will to choose which game/app to play. I'm not sure how well this worked.. I didn't see much progress in the students and a lot of the time they would just choose racing games or candy crush. I'm wondering how iPads or stations would work in the social studies classroom. What are your thoughts?
DeleteBranden, my only comment about 'keeping things fresh' is not to postpone strategies that work (and work well!) just to keep up the novelty effect. If something works, and you can justify that is maximizes learning and outcomes, you should employ it as often as feasibly possible.
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