Improvements in Education….How Can It Be Done?

There is no doubt that our education system is in need of some improvement.  It is a slow progression, but over the last decade things have started changing. After reading Big Ideas for Better Schools: Ten Ways to Improve Education and watching the attached video on Edutopia, I was enlightened to the many ways that education is in fact being changed.  Reform can not take place overnight.  It is a slow and steady progression that takes place over an extended period of time.  This article and video discuss ten big ideas that can help improve our classrooms.  Those things being:

1. PBL or Problem Based Learning
2. Technology Integration
3. Integrated Studies
4. Cooperative Learning
5. Comprehensive Assessment
7. Emotional Intelligence
8. Teacher Preparation
9. Parent Involvement & Community Partners
10. Maximize Resources

Collaboration, problem solving and technology amongst the many other things listed gets students involved and invested in what they are learning.  When they are invested they develop a relationship and feelings for what they are doing.  Technology integration brings a level of comfort to today's youth when it comes to education that is unmatched.  This is a way for students to create and use imagination in education that has them recalling projects for years to come.  Teamwork is imperative in today's world.  Through PBL and Cooperative Learning students fosters an environment of real-life problem solving communication and collaboration skills.  It requires students to think outside of the box and embrace ideas that might not be like their own. Teacher preparation, parent and community involvement are all key pieces to this giant puzzle.  If teachers and parents show interest and are invested the students will strive to succeed.  With these few things a tremendous amount of change and reform can take place in the classroom and education and success is the only thing that can come of it.

~Morgan

Growth Mindset In Education

Can a students attitude about learning change?  After reading about Growth Mindset and how it is moving through our education system, I believe a students attitude about learning can change.  As teachers, we have to be advocates for our students.  This includes many roles.  It means encouraging them and challenging them when they think they are failing or not meeting their expectations…or yours.  This change in dynamic is taking place in schools more than ever now.  You can see this in the aligning of curriculum to Common Core standards.  It requires that students push themselves harder than ever.  There is now an accountability system that students are being held to, not only by the teachers but by themselves as well.

We have heard throughout life that "you are never too old to learn, or you only stop learning when you are dead."  This is true.  It is always possible to build on intelligence.  It is important to teach students that you can learn from the mistakes you make.  Perfection is so overruled!  It is impossible to live up to perfection…in any one's mind.  Once students stop striving for perfection, and embrace learning from mistakes they are taking the first steps in growth mindset.  This along with taking the humiliation out of failing in school and replacing it with encouragement, positive feedback, and praise will slowly but surely change a students mindset about learning.  This is wonderful and encouraging information.  It is so encouraging to know that we as teachers can definitely make a difference in our students lives.  This should be our goal….and to know that we can encourage those who excel as well as those that don't and change mindsets about learning is exciting.  I will consider it a success to change the mindset of a student who fears failure, dislikes learning and education, to one who enjoys learning and begins to excel in ways he/she never has before.  This is what being a teacher is all about!

~Morgan

Mr. Winkle Wakes- 100 Years of Unchanged Education

One part of my assignment for this blog was to watch Mr. Winkle Wakes by Matthew Needleman.  It is the story of Mr. Winkle who awakes from a 100 year slumber.  While he slept everything around him changed.  The world became digital to the point that it sickened him.  It wasn't until Mr. Winkle walked into a school building and into a classroom that he felt familiarity and belonging.  It was there that he felt little change and the comfort that he was looking for.  This short story of Mr. Winkle portrays the urgency for the change that is needed in education.  It is impossible to go year to year and not evolve and this includes education.

Students have evolved and are now living in a digital world more than ever.  It is time that education and the way that we teach the younger generations evolves too.  Technology is the world that we live in now.  We have to jump on the digital bandwagon or we will be doing our students a severe injustice.  We can not properly prepare them for life if we do not integrate technology into our classrooms and the way that we educate.  It is impossible to evaluate students based on a test score and unfortunately this is how the education system is doing it.  It is imperative that changes be made, in many different ways.  Matthew Needleman makes an excellent point in Mr. Winkle Wakes; no matter what is going on, things are always changing and we must be willing to change to….even in education.

~Morgan

My Reflection on Education & Technology

In today's world technology can not be avoided.  It is a part of most everything we do.  This is true for the classroom, education, and the way students learn in today's world as well.  It is so important that we as educators embrace technology and use the different tools available to connect with our children and teach them in the best possible manner…one that they can relate to.  While it may seem unconventional to many, it is in fact the new norm.  There are so many ways to connect with today's youth and their parents.  We just have to be willing to put forth a little extra effort and time in order to do so.

Teachers have so many unique and wonderfully useful tools at their fingertips in the digital world.  Portaportal is an excellent way to organize and keep references to the thousands of websites out there.  A blog and classroom website is an excellent way to keep everyone up to date and informed of the happenings within the class.  It is a wonderful tool for parents as well as students.  Twitter is also a very common form of social media being used by teachers to stay in touch with their students and keep them informed outside of the classroom.  You have to cater to what they know, like and use….it is so important.   Google is an entire world unto itself.  I am just delving into the countless amount of things Google has to offer.  The entire Google setup is so user friendly and easy to manage.  Everything is in one place.  The possibilities as a tool in the classroom are endless.  I am so excited to learn and keep learning about the many ways that technology can be used in the classroom and how to properly teach my students so that they will be equipped to succeed in the digital world.

~Morgan