In this TED Talk Seth Goldin explains how schools were created so children could be made obedient and work well in the factories when they graduated. He says that schools were created like factories for this reason. He states that the purpose of school, whatever that may be, is no longer to train students to be obedient factory workers; however, the procedures in schools have not changed to reflect the new purpose of school. I feel that the purpose of school is to instill in students the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in any career that they choose. Thus I agree with Goldin that teachers need to allow students to be more creative and learn real world skills instead of school world skills. I thought it was interesting that he said to let every test be an open book and notes test because "everything worth memorizing is worth looking up". I hadn't really thought about assessments in that way before, but it is true that in the real world people have phones and computers that they can use to look things up with all the time. I want my students to be critical thinkers, which includes finding ways to obtain information and figuring out how to use that information to solve a problem; it does not include memorizing formulas. I also agree with Goldin that we should let students have more time to be creative and explore what interests them. I think that my students would be more engaged if we spent less time on doing similar problems over and over again and more time allowing them to explore what interests them mathematically. In this TED Talk Dan Meyer explains that the math curriculum that is currently being used by most schools is creating impatient problem solvers. He shows examples of how math textbooks are giving students a formula and all the information they need to plug into it; this creates people who expect every problem in life to be solved quickly and easily, it does not develop critical thinkers. What I like best about Dan Meyer is that he does not only state what he believes should be changed about math education, but he also gives solutions and suggestions that I could apply in my classes. He explains how to take away most of the information that a textbook problem gives students in order to create an analytic mathematical discussion about the problem. I believe that this is the best way for students to learn math. For one, any student at any level can share something about a picture or video that you show them, so all students have the opportunity to be engaged and participate. Secondly, I believe that students learn the best by exploring a problem instead of being lead to the exact solution in the back of the book obtained by using the formula in beginning of section. After watching this video I will make it my goal to modify at least one problem per lesson so that it engages students and helps them develop into patient problem solvers.
2 Comments
Martin Zschoche
2/8/2015 07:57:08 am
Indeed, we need students/graduates who can think through new situations and new concepts, rather than individuals who only know how to be obedient and follow a set of industrial instructions to produce the latest kitchen widget. The challenge for us is to make our classes engaging so that students are required to think and ponder new ideas, not just regurgitate a list of memorized vocabulary on a test.
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2/8/2015 02:33:46 pm
There was this interesting Ted talk about how education needs to be focused on learning, rather than "stealing dreams" via testing or stagnant learning based on the fear of not being perfect on paper. I think that it relates to the first video you watched.
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AuthorMy name is Brooke and I am a teacher candidate in the CSUSM credential program. I am currently long-term subbing Integrated Math 1 and Math 180 classes at Vista High. Archives
May 2015
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