The 21st-century educator

As silly as the question may seem - but what characterisitcs of the 21st-century educator (as outlined by +George Couros below) are blatantly different from the educator from 20 or 30 years back? 

In his original post, Couros calls for suggestions of other traits. It may seem as a given, but I would include here the ability to effectively communicate - with students, parents/guardians, colleagues and other educational stakeholders in a language that each relates to. 

Small steps, please, not giant leaps

Ideas presented in a lecture presented by Brazilian Senator Cristovam Buarque at the seminar to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação, sponsored by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in Rio de Janeiro (Sep 19^th, 2016).

1. Sen. Buarque and many other specialists and legislators defend a leap in the quality of the Brazilian educational system.

The problem most likely lies in the choice of the word “leap” – we have to stop wanting to make leaps and start thinking of steps. We can’t jump if we are carrying a lot of extra weight.

1. The teacher has to speak the language of the youth, the language of modern technologies, and the school, in turn, has to be offered fulltime, with the inclusion of language teaching, in order to teach “everything” and get kids off the streets and away from the television.

   We can’t expect to speak the language of the students if we want to get them away from the TV. TV viewing has become part of their lives and how they see the world – through movies, series, video clips and games and they watch not in front of the physical screen. Most of the times, they connect via smartphones or tablets. What’s more, the senator’s proposition implies that learning only takes place in the traditional classroom, that the school is the only valid learning space, an idea that is being challenged by the un-schooling and homeschooling practices,

1. Education policy cannot be tied to a political party or politician in power at the time. it has to be approved at all levels – federal, state and municipal – and by the community. This guarantees the continuity of programs regardless of who is in power.

Education and health are two areas that should be leverage for parties or political/economic groups who seek their interests only. This is the biggest challenge facing education today.

1. “The Brazilian people do not value education as a whole”.

How can you value something you have not been exposed to? it has been proven time and time again that when people are exposed to manifestations of art and culture, they appreciate what is good, what is fine, what is supreme. With education, this would not be the same.

1. ‘Education has to be priority of the Office of the President. There should a separate ministry for primary and secondary education. Tertiary education should be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Science and Technology.”

Is jurisdiction really what matters? What is not clear is how compartmentalizing the three levels of education will ensure efficiency.

Back to the future

Back to the Future (Based on the post '4 Reasons why social media should be taught in our school systems

When computer lessons were a novelty in the classroom, how did schools react when computing became part of the syllabus? 

Social media today is the computer skills of the 90's 

 Many are the reasons for teaching "social media" in classrooms 

1. The world is socially digital 
2. The world is dangerous and we need to know how to protect ourselves from cyber attacks, privacy concerns and so on 
3. Social media like computers is a valuable learning tool (not necessarily a waste of time) 
4. Using Social media is a vital career skill - companies use social media to hire and recruit 

If these reasons hold, then there are some considerations:. 

What name should the subject go by - social media, digital skills, social media competence? 

What will the syllabus cover exactly? 

What other skills should be included? 

What forms of assessment will be implemented?

 

So many questions

The future of education lies in enhancing what we take away from the learning experience

#quotes #TeacherAppreciationDay #TeachersDay #teacherfriends #education #educationweek @ZeinaChalich @kesselpa pic.twitter.com/xagXYYcTtF

— Envision (@mirrenduh) May 4, 2016

(All) Inclusive education

Mark Weston's post in the form of letter to a graduating student (who never felt he could fit in at school) enticed me into better understanding the term inclusive education.

The future of and for education lies not in the technologies but in the capacity to embrace all learners and provide them with the means to eplore their learners, regardless of their "differences" (these are too many and unncessary to mention here).

Defining the term is as diufficult as making the system work for all our students, a point candidly stated by Mark in the two paragraphs taken from his post:

The number of definitions will vary, simply because all the stakeholders don't have the same goals and expectations in mind when it comes to the subject. Some key words have to be considered, though:

What can be done to make education more inclusive?

Should we stop calling it EDUCATION until it in fact encompasses learners in all their diversities?

How can we even aim for such a thing if the society does not uphold these values? Is this another case of the proverbial chicken and egg dilemma?

Rapport in the classroom - yesterday, today and tomorrow

We can come up with all the technological innovations, talk about 21st-century skills, but it continues boil down to this

"Relationships between students and passionate teachers will always be the foundation of successful classrooms." - @MrsDelz 🙌

— Chandler Wright (@ChanTheMan92) January 10, 2016

Back to the future?

The social constructivists saw the future long before us

Social Constructivism in Education https://t.co/2KSi0R61L3 #edpolicy #edreform pic.twitter.com/8990eE6CrH

— Matthew Lynch (@Lynch39083) December 22, 2015

From darkness to light

When education is embraced as a topic of discussion, the focus is usually on its role in a thriving civlization. What is often overlooked is a definition of what it is, or what it should ideally be. 

This thought occurred me thanks to @mirrenduh's take on the concept and spurred me on to go even further: why not get others to define EDUCATION - how thye see it now or how they wish it was? This will most likely lead us to see where it is heading and how we can make it actually happen.

So,to get the "campaign" going, share with us what is education for you. Let's find common ground, conflict points and new opportunities. To get the ball rolling:

            

HQ Education

A high quality education should be a right to each individual, no matter the race, location or background. https://t.co/igserCzxP0

— Proximity Learning (@ProxLearning) September 18, 2015

The challenge is defining HIGH QUALITY and based on whose terms, criteria and interests.

Imagine that!

School does not just have to be a requisite for the world outside. It should also be the world of doing, of trying, of retrying. Though we know the learning process is never FINITE, it is compartmentalized into periods, terms or years. When the time expires, so does the learning.


Thanks to @paullawleyjones for this insight. 

The age of the teacherpreneur

 Are you...?

Congrats! You're a teacher!

I decided to start this post after reading one of a series of articles that aim to brief us on a new professional that is supposedly taking the classrooms by storm:

The one I read (link above) comes with the title "How teacherpreneurs spread good ideas" and as much as I loved the ideas presented (yes, we need teachers who are never daunted by the difficulties or limitations they face and make learning meaningful for their students by going beyond the physical boundaries of the classroom), the topic got me thinking:

 

Focus on the micro but don't forget the macro

Every teacher has one major challenge that accompanies their practice every day; be a specialist in the area of knowledge they teach. This poses a double challenge: focusing on the micro without forgetting the macro. 

When we teach a subject we have to understand the big picture, we have to recognize that our nanobyte of knowledge is intertwined with many other areas of knowledge that are usually presented separately for the sake of organization. An interdisciplinary approach to knowledge is not a grand invention of formal education, it is the essence of life as we know it and experience it.

Focusing on specific areas of knowledge is an advance and a setback at the same time: anything that is apparently not directly connected to what we teach is summarily ignored or discarded. 

There is not much you can do with just a piece of the puzzle.

Fostering a cognitive-friendly environment

This post is based on some ideas that were covered in the #profchat on Twitter that took place on April 7th, (for more, read the archive here). 

Initially, any learning environment is cognitive. But in schools, colleges and universities, teachers don't push students to memorize, associate, analyze, assess, apply, synthesize, create and reflect. When this happens, learning becomes cognitive-UNfriendly. 
      
My takeaway from the discussion has to do with how we can foster cognitive learning. By:  

• chunking information
• scaffolding activities
• using cognitive dissonance  
• making connections between multiple concepts
• adopting an interdisciplinary approach
• applying new knowledge to old
• de-constructing and re-constructing knowledge
• using Socratic questioning
• providing directed feedback
• maximizing emotional readiness to learn
• using music and TPR activities to stimulate mental exercise

 One practical tip I loved was the idea of using Twitter to get students to write about how they are learning. The 140-character limit forces them to be concise and to think carefully about their learning. 

In the end, the range of procedures and tips above can be summed up into a basic tenet that must be around, no matter what path education takes in the future: 

Learning must take students to a tangible and meaningful goal

If it's not a right then there's no future

Michelle Obama's take on education drives home the still very sad truth: we have a long way to go to ensure that EVERYONE has the civil right to an education that shapes responsible, ethical, cooperative and respectful citizens who don't have to do mind-boggling things but just commit to being part of a bigger picture known as the human race. We the educators are still the FUTURE OF EDUCATION. Talk is cheap, so education shouldn't just talk - it should listen and act on it what hears.

Ethical and safe - that should be School

Spread the word

http://stephanslog.tumblr.com/post/111330085107/education-is-not-a-secret-and-we-shouldnt-treat

Understanding how you learn

This story never tires me - it is a gentle reminder of how we need to be sensitive to the students we deal with to see what makes them tick

You can't manage learning

The video provides us with a peek at what is called the 70:20:10 learning model, devised By Charles Jennings. My take away from this is that when it comes to LEARNING, you can't manage it or any other word you might want to use that is associated with control, regulation, manipulation, assessment or measurement. Added to that, the context is the workplace, but I keep thinking about how this would and should work in schools. A real possibility for future education?

If we were born to learn, then education has to let go of the reins on learning

This video focuses on the need to give teenagers the freedom and spark their curiosity to learn, but the mindset has to be valid for all those committed to their own #lifelonglearning. It should also be the driving force of our educational legislators and thinkers who REALLY want to empower the nation's youth.
BTW, This video was brought to my attention by @feedtheteacher.

Getting students to showcase what they learn

One of the trends I am personally excited about is that of students sharing what they have learnt digitally. This can come in the form a domain as the insightful article by @tvanderark points out, a blog, a portfolio or other web-based platforms. There are three underpinning concepts here: CHOICE, AUDIENCE and PROOF. Students have to make choices about what they are going to include in their learning diaries. They have to think of who is going to read their digital aritifacts and finally their assertions have to be backed up by examples - theoretical and/or practical - from the subject of study. I think I'll stop here so you can read the post below and while you're at it, see if I am practising what I preach about the THREE CONCEPTS in my own writing.

Education growing more & more student-centered - 2015 awaits Encourage Writing with a Domain, Blog & Portfolio http://t.co/plRp3dan4j

— Stephan Hughes (@defstef98) December 30, 2014