If media treated teachers like sport stars
Key & Peele, setting the tone and stage for how media should portray the professional teacher.
July 29, 2015
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Key & Peele, setting the tone and stage for how media should portray the professional teacher.
” ‘In most sectors board of directors include many industry experts, and in higher education that’s not true. There are often one or two, if any, members of the boards who are higher education experts,’ said Merrill Schwartz, vice president of consulting at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. ‘It’s a lot to ask of members to understand the industry, and trustee education really is a leg up.’ “
New Push for Trustee Training by Kellie Woodhouse
We we cannot forget that education is a profession and a field unto itself. Education is no different than medicine: a field in which thousands spend their life in research, practicing, and review with the goal of improving the quality of life for all.
We must start treating it as a profession.
Faculty Focus had a quick little blurb on getting students to do their reading assignments, outlining which standard techniques work best.
However, one technique they’re missing: explaining what the reading will teach them and how the reading will aid them in life and/or work. Students don’t read because the assignments lacks the weight of import. Especially with adult students, something often has to get sacrificed in education or life (there are only 24 hrs in the day) – reading assignments will fall off because students often don’t buy into their importance. Help them understand the import.
A bonus of this activity, you’ll be forced to evaluate the real importance of the reading. If it’s not full, rich, and thick with weight, pitch it. Find one that is.
Not quite, but ZOMG – coming July 8th, you’ll be able to submit homework via the iTunes Mobile App. I have loads of questions that I’m hoping to answer when I get my hands on it. More evidence that the idea of learning and education is expanding into our cultural mindset. Remember, there will always be a place for the four year institutes, but I’m thrilled that learning is becoming more of an ordinary expectation of our people.
In case you’re interested, my questions:
A handful of close friends and I message each other whenever a business issue comes up, a pep talk is in order, or we need advice on which shoes to wear for the networking event. Today, a message came through – a mild panic that visits everyone once in awhile: “I suck at my job.”
In honor of this event, I put forth my 7 steps to being suck-cessful, as we all have days where we feel like we have no idea what we’re doing. You must do these in order, and cannot move on to the next step until you have completed the previous.
Flowers do not start out with the blossom – don’t lead with petals, build strength with roots. And don’t forget to care for it with patience, sunshine, and wine…er…water.
Marla Eck, founder of Leihigh Valley Vanguard, shares the disheartening story of how – and more importantly why – the journal was started. The tl;dr version: adminstration forebade her students from writing on the course’s blog because the school was worried about privacy and didn’t wanted to share what was being taught in re medial English. I’ll let you read between the lines yourself on that one.
But read it. It’s worth it.
Marie Norman graciously consolidated a list of 7 key insights about learning from recent research. You can read through the first three HERE and the other four HERE.
The snapshot version:
Go forth and do something great.
David Hoffmeister, wrote a relatively objective piece on the proliferation of coding schools. The driving question of the article is how should higher education institutes react to these new and growing coding bootcamp academies? Having been designed curriculum and instructional for traditional high education models and now helping direct the curriculum and instructional model of Mobile Makers Academy, I can only have one answer: celebrate them.
Education isn’t The Highlander – there can be more than one [model]. Deep, meaningful learning doesn’t occur only in a classroom – it’s happening everywhere, across a life-time. A new mother doesn’t retreat to a classroom to figure out how to soothe her crying baby: she relies on learning from other mothers (mentors), support groups (peer learning), online blogs (self-directed learning), and her doctor (expert practioners). I encourage all higher education institutes to reflect: are you so ready to say, definitively, that people can learn only in your model? Are you really ready to look a plumber, who went through the local union’s apprentice program – which typically lasts 4 – 5 years with formal training – that her time spent doesn’t count as learning?
This isn’t about a new and radical form of education emerging, it’s about society embracing diversity of learning – in this case, training. The growth of these academies means that there are more and different opportunities for people to grow as humans and become productive citizens. If you’re against that, then I urge you to reflect upon what you believe education is.
Here’s a few myths of these academies debunked:
People aren’t getting a quality education
The educational model is apprenticeship-based, often rooted in constructivist and collaborative learning – which mimics the life-long learning that occurs within the field of software development. Gina Trapani, a programmer, says that “Good coders are a special breed of persistent problem-solvers who are addicted to the small victories that come along a long path of trial and error.” Thus, when students leave these academies, they are not only competent in the skills but also they have the know-how to be successful as a life-long learner in their field.
The model is structured around students practicing the trade, mastering the tools, and learning the theory as they go. This works in the field of software engineering because right now, it’s a vocation. The model is perfect for the need of that trade.
People aren’t getting a thorough, well-rounded education (aka the liberal arts and cultural literacy that comes with a four year degree)
We all want our citizens to be well-rounded, thoughtful humans. But I will ask: does this only happen in a four year degree? If you believe it does, what does this say about the role of art museums and cultural centers? If “culture” is only taught in a classroom, then why do such museums and cultural centers exist? I really encourage all of us in education to think about reconstructing our assumptions and see the integration of learning in the day-to-day as a victory of our field and as a way to explore new ways to teach “liberal arts”.
This model of education is a fad
This model has proven itself in the United States since the mid 1600’s. So…
The companies teach only those who can demonstrate a propensity to coding
Yes. That’s the whole point: find people who can learn the skills, who want to learn the skills, and then teach them those skills. With the demand for developers so high, the options – as a marketplace – are either to train current populations in these skill sets or to outsource. The academies focus on identifying those who want to become developers and who can become developers to build out the workforce that’s needed.
So, returning to the question: how should higher education institutes react these new and growing coding bootcamp academies? The workforce needs workers and traditional education isn’t providing them. So, the field hacked the system by adopting a tried-and-true method to the new needs of today. We should celebrate the fact that the field of education is growing to meet the needs of this society. We – as educators – can’t grow without diversity of models and changing demands. Without them, we would stagnate. So I say, cheers. Welcome to the field.
Moral of the Story: Education is a life-long, life-deep, and life-wide affair that we have with ourselves. We cannot possibly assume that all critical forms of education can fit in the box of a classroom, bootcamp, workshop, or book. We must embrace and embody the mindset that learning is ever-present, and comes in many forms.
After pulling together some resources for our instructors here at work, I came across a great article that outlines Carl Roger’s theories on psychology, which align themselves with educational theories. Rogers is often associated with taking Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to the next level, and often leaves a bit to be wanted when it comes to implementation in a learning environment. How can one construct a learning environment that simultaneously elicits strong self-worth while also building ideal self? Here’s how. According to Rogers, a fully-functioning person is one who is open to new experience, lives in the moment without judgement, trusts their feelings, involves creativity, and lives a fulfilled life. All these things are vital to a successful learning environment, so it’s fitting that we architect an environment to strengthen and elicit these notions.
As this involves the acceptance of life circumstances and emotions that come with it, a learning environment can do the following.
This means to live without preconceived notions of what will happen. It encourages living in the moment, and a learning environment can do that through the following.
Western cultures are horrible at emotional intelligence. We don’t include a lesson about how to be angry, sad, or joyful. We don’t teach it. But we should. Here’s how a classroom can encourage that.
This should be the most familiar. Fostering creativity in a classroom is something many strive for, so I won’t pretend to have the best ideas. Here are others who have much better ideas than me:
To me, this is a combination of all the above. A fulfilled life is when a learner is interested in taking risks, feels confident and comfortable, and wants to explore more about the world and themselves. It also means feeling important to the group. Many of the same techniques can apply here, but this can also include peer teaching, peer advocacy, and committee membership. Any time you can provide student voice to the classroom, the stronger the classroom.
Happy teaching!
If you’re part of an edtech company, you need to read this article from EdSurge. It will help you avoid the common pitfalls of edtech when it comes to implementation.
For me, I gravitate to the fact that too many people see educational technology as a solution in of itself, but it’s not. The solution doesn’t reside in the tool – it resides in how you use it. And if you don’t teach those using it how to actually use it, the tool will fail.