Connected
learning is a concept that we have talked about a lot within this program. We
all know connection is the foundation of a classroom and the relationship
between teachers to students as well as students to students. Garcia and
O’Donnell-Allen speak about the idea of hacking the way the educational system
works. They wish to challenge the way teaching is done and curriculum is given
in a different way – they want teachers to challenge and break through their
conceptions of teaching and what being in a classroom is like. They bring up
the concept of vulnerable learning which keeps intellect in the lessons but
also includes emotions. For some, this may be an idea that is too much to
handle, and people feel that teachers should just do their job and teach
students what they need to know to pass a test. However, I challenge those
individuals to look back at their schooling experiences and try to remember
teachers that stood out to them the most. For me, the teachers that push
through are the ones who made an impact on my life not dealing with academics,
or so I thought.
We as humans are more willing to participate in anything if we
feel an emotional connection or tie to the subject. Therefore, we as educators
need to provide lessons for our students that bring emotions into the
classroom. Teaching and learning is much more than just about making sure our
students know how to read and write; it is about teaching them a solid foundation about being good people in our communities.
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My senior
year of high school English teacher, Mr. Weinheimer, reminded me of Mr.
Hougardy from chapter 2. This English class was unlike any I have had because
instead of focusing directly on the curriculum he needed to teach us, he would
allow us to do projects in ways we felt connected to personally. I feel that
his passion for the subject and for our success as humans made the class feel
so much more than an English course, writing papers and being scolded on our
poor grammar. He took our assignments and hacked them. I remember never feeling
like the assignments or projects were tedious work, but more of something I was
eager to be involved in. Looking back, I felt he incorporated vulnerable
learning into the classroom. I do not remember specific lessons we did, but I
do remember always being emotionally connected to the discussions and projects
we did. This is his website if you want to browse and learn more about him: https://www.rickweinheimer.com
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“…educators must now not only consider how youth might use digital tools and practices in service of civic and political activity but how online life is a context for civic and political activity,” (Garcia & O’Donnell-Allen, p. 65).
In Chapter 3, Garcia and O’Donnell-Allen bring up how media can foster civic engagement. Kids use social media more than anything and it has become such a great
platform for change. Take the movement after the Parkland shooting. The
students who lost seventeen classmates during a school shooting just last year
took to social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to become activists
for change. The students created a movement and a voice for themselves. A great
lesson for educators would be for their students to explore how this happened
and why it has been so affective. Teachers could have students explore how
these teens used literacy as a tool for meaningful action. The teens were
emotionally invested in wanting a change, and the teachers of Parkland were
supportive in allowing space for their students to be advocates for themselves
and future students.
Here is more about the Parkland teens and social media: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/us/parkland-students-social-media.html
Great post Tori! I like how the very first thing you talk about is connected learning. Your quote "We as humans are more willing to participate in anything if we feel an emotional connection or tie to the subject." During my schooling experience, I can't even count how many times I heard, or said myself, something along the lines of "when am I ever going to use this" or "why are we doing this?" Too often, students feel no connection to what they learn in school and feel like it's just something they have to do to move on. Being a teacher like Mr. Hougardy or your teacher Mr. Weinheimer, should be the goal of all teachers. I looked at his website and he seems awesome! He allowed you to be emotionally connected to your work and it made a huge impact on you not only in his class but after as well.
ReplyDeleteI also really like how you brought up fostering civil engagement through media. I completely agree that kids are using social media more than anything and that is a great platform for change. The younger generations aren't sitting down for a half hour or more and watching the news on TV. They're using social media and getting the news that is relevant to them instantly, voicing their opinions, forming groups, organizing rallies, and connecting with people from around the world who want to see the same change they do. Of course social media can be a distraction and is also used for leisure, if it is used as a tool in the classroom, it can be a tool for students to be activists and create the change they want to see.
I agree completely with your point about using social media correctly. I think it can be such a valuable outlet for kids, but if they use it in the wrong way can be harmful for them. Kids really are finding out everything online now, through social media. There are also so many different opinions out there for students to see. We should teach our students how to filter through all the mess to find reliable sources and information on topics!
DeleteGreat post! I especially liked your points about social media being used for civic activity. You’re absolutely right that kids use social media all the time. I read the article you linked about the Parkland teens and was amazed at how they used the channels they were already using to keep the conversation going long after it might have been forgotten.
ReplyDeleteToo often, social media is seen as distracting and harmful to youth. A Google search for “social media is…” brings up results like toxic, bad, a waste of time, addictive, bad for society, cancer, poison, and a distraction. If I Google “social media leads to…” the top ten search predictions are all negative. With all the negativity surrounding social media, it is easy to lose sight of the good things young people have achieved with it.
Some youth are already using social media to unite people internationally through a shared cause. From the #MeToo movement, Black Lives Matter, to the Parkland students, social media is being used to highlight social issues.
Unfortunately, these contributions are seen as extracurricular. Teachers and other adults don’t mind students being active on social media as long as it’s ‘on their own time.’ This view downplays the voices of students and teaches them that what they have to say on social isn’t valued.
I think it is time for teachers to hack this mindset and give students back their voices—using whatever media works for them.
I'm glad you brought up other social media movements! I do agree it is time for teachers to allow students to find their voice, even if it is through social media. Like you said, social media has such a negative stigma associated with, and when use incorrectly can cause emotional harm or distress to students. Teachers, like you said, show realize that social media is here to stay for a while and we should teach our students how to use it benefit us rather than harm us. Good points!
DeleteYou both bring up some excellent points that I was grappling with while I was reading chapter 3 and your post, Tori. I have to admit that when I think of children and young teens using social media I have a little bit of fear in the back of my mind. Children and preteens can be so vulnerable and easily influenced that the things that they have access to or are exposed to on social media. However, as an adult who uses social media, and reading the ways it can encourage our students to be activists like in the Parkland article, I know there are a lot of great things too. It can band people together around a cause, make you aware of issues and opposing view points you may not otherwise be exposed to, and engage you and others in conversation about important events in your community or our country. Knowing both my fear of our students exposure to social media as well as the many benefits engaging with social media can have I wonder what is the best way to get them started using social media and presenting it to them? I think it would be interesting to have a class discussion where we brainstorm ideas of how to best expose our students to social media. Maybe have a lesson on how be safe, use discernment, and effectively use these platforms would be beneficial?
DeleteTori
DeleteI taking your challenge to “challenge those individuals to look back at their schooling experiences and try to remember teachers that stood out to them the most.” In college I had a professor, Peter Crosby, he instructed computer science courses. I recall that I looked forward to attending his classes every week. His assignments were never dull or overwhelming because of the way he “hack” into us as students. He’s the only professor that I have had that went camping with the students. It was the annual computer science camping trip and all students, spouse and children. I can see now how these weekends created a great time for him to hack into us for the remained of the years. You never knew what to expect each day he walked into class. From writing code, searching for computer jobs, building computers everyone was engaged and had input. He would use the camping experience throughout the year to hack into our coding courses. He inspired you to understand and break boundaries each day. He was defiantly on the learning edge by “taking risks to consider new perspectives and ideas” (Page 37). On a number of occasions, he was come into class and say “Starting today we need to do this differently”. Whether it was the live Christmas tree in the center of the room, coding programs that were being written or discussions that were held during class it seemed he was pushing the limits of our learning and the administrations tolerance. When the teacher is hacking the delivery of the learning everyone benefits. Those are the teacher that our few and far between. Which is sad to say as they should be the norm and not the unicorn.
Tori, great post! You brought up the x factor (“connected learning”) in teaching in which all of us wish to have as educators. When this happens, our students become vulnerable to our teaching and our pedagogy becomes easier, interesting, and more effective. Looking back on my schooling, I don’t recall many teachers having that effect on me. I do recall both of my coaches in high school that made an impact. I played baseball and basketball, each coach was different in their personality and style but yet were very effective. As you mentioned, I definitely was “connected” in their ability to teach me a process which extended beyond the field or court. You mentioned “the concept of vulnerable learning which keeps intellect in the lessons but also includes emotions” and “We as humans are more willing to participate in anything if we feel an emotional connection or tie to the subject,” both were true of my experience with my coaches. Emotions have a major role in sports. They can be defining moments for some people. Thankfully I was able to benefit from having these coaches in my life who helped me through the tougher side sports.
ReplyDeleteI like at the end of your post where you talk about civil engagement through the use of media. Social media is so effective and gives everyone a voice and be active in our world. For myself, I think there are so many progressive advancements in how we can communicate through social media that it can kind of can be worrisome. As we proceed into the future as a society, I hope our youth will continue to be a part of something that motivates them into actual action instead of just relying on our smartphones.
I'm glad you had positive and influential role models growing up. I love how you mentioned sports coaches impacted your life outside of the game. Those adults in our lives who go above and beyond to connect with their students/players are the ones that make a difference. I hope one day we will be the people our students bring up when speaking about teachers having positive impact on them.
DeleteGreat post and great memes Tori! I enjoyed hearing about your experience with connected learning and how your English teacher made an impact through vulnerable learning and hacking. I had a similar experience with a math teacher in High School. While math is generally looked at as a right and wrong answer subject and follows traditional fundamentalist roles through the teacher and student, this class was different. Mr. Ogden allowed us to see how we could use math in our everyday lives and used things like competitions and hands on projects to build a relationship between himself and the class and between classmates. I felt excited to go to class because of his ability to make the class more than formulas and answers by hacking the lessons and including discussion and vulnerability. This class seemed more like a community than any other class I’ve taken. I believe the key to changing the way the educational system is being run is through connection and relationships and allowing for the teacher to not have all the answers and to work through the inquiries as a community of learners.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your text-to-world connection through the Parkland shooting and thought this point was very insightful. I always find it funny when older adults talk about how social media and the new technological generation are ruining the world when it’s actually the opposite. Technology is such a big part of the world now and can be used for civil engagement and to improve our society. If teachers encourage civic encouragement more positive change can occur and allow for the next generation to be active contributing members of society. I believe that is a big missing piece of our educational system and by encouraging students to understand and critically analyze the events happening in our community we are providing them with a greater lesson than they have been receiving in these classes. While memorizing all the presidents in order is a fun trick (something we were forced to do in high school), I believe it’s more important to know what’s happening in today’s world and use our voices and knowledge to make changes.
Thanks for sharing your experience with your math teacher, it's so great to hear other perspectives on why teachers made such impressions on us. Those teachers create such a positive environment that it makes students excited and willing to learn, like you said. I love how you mentioned the word community. I think that is something I will try and incorporate with my future students -- how we have a community within our classroom and the relationships build on that.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your point about how it is vital for kids to know what is happening in our society and how to cope with certain events. I think school is much more than just about passing tests or memorizing facts, so making sure we teach the students how to use their voices to make positive change in the world is key to being a successful educator. Great points!
I had several teachers who were similar to Mr. Weinheimer/Mr. Hougardy. Since I was interested in film in high school, many of my teachers allowed me to incorporate that interest into various projects/assignments. For my English class we had to do a speech on Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold. My English teacher allowed me to examine and comment on the text from the perspective of a film director. Teachers, particularly, English teachers, oftentimes make the mistake of providing students with one essay prompt or topic. I've always thought that was a mistake, as it hinders students from exploring themes or topics that interest them from the text. I liked the example from Pose, Wobble, and Flow of the AP English students hacking Hamlet. However, I felt that it was still too constraining in that the students were forced to focus on the topic of resiliency. By always giving students a prepared topic, we don't allow them to consider what part of the text was most meaningful or interesting to them.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using social media in a positive light. When I was in high school, we only considered the negative implications of social media. Social media is such an integral part of young adults' lives and experiences today that rather than admonishing it we can utilize it do supplement our curriculum. We should give students more credit for using social media to enact change. I'm always reminded of the series Series of Unfortunate Events. In it the adults never listen to or believe the children on the basis that children couldn't possibly understand things at a superior level to adults. Social media is a way to counteract this. Children don't need permission to become activists on social media. Additionally, it's more difficult for their voices to be censored.
I love how you challenge “individuals to look back at their schooling experience and try to remember teachers that stood out to them the most.” The teachers I that I believe affected the most change in my life and had the greatest impact were the teachers I had that took an interest in my personally outside of the curriculum. I remember a high school English teacher I had my freshman year, Mrs. Johnson, and she encouraged me not only in my school work, but to get involved with a group after school that gave back to a local domestic violence shelter. Knowing how much Mrs. Johnson impacted me just by showing interest I can only imagine the difference a teacher could make if they combined this interest with encouraging you to question your textbooks and struggle with the material. I would have liked to have experienced challenging the curriculum instead of just blindly accepting what my teachers said. Although I was known to have my moments of debate every once in a while, with certain subject matters, so maybe there is hope for vulnerable learning in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Nicole Mirra’s point in Chapter 2 of Pose, Wobble, Flow (p. 37) when she said, “I feel like I always had to start with relationships and trust-building and allowing myself to be vulnerable and try to change students’ ideas that they sometimes came into class with…”. I think it goes along with your post, so well and really drives home the importance of “connected learning”. First in foremost students won’t take to heart what you’re trying to instill in them and will be resistant to you trying to change what they have always known to be true if they don’t believe that you truly care about them as an individual on a personal level. As you mentioned in your post, we have seen this time and time again in this program that in order to engage our students we have to combine the curriculum with their personal interests and relationships with them and their communities. These are the ideas that make me excited about becoming a teacher, because being relational and learning about people on an authentic level is what I’m passionate about. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Tori!
Tori
ReplyDeleteI taking your challenge to “challenge those individuals to look back at their schooling experiences and try to remember teachers that stood out to them the most.” In college I had a professor, Peter Crosby, he instructed computer science courses. I recall that I looked forward to attending his classes every week. His assignments were never dull or overwhelming because of the way he “hack” into us as students. He’s the only professor that I have had that went camping with the students. It was the annual computer science camping trip and all students, spouse and children. I can see now how these weekends created a great time for him to hack into us for the remained of the years. You never knew what to expect each day he walked into class. From writing code, searching for computer jobs, building computers everyone was engaged and had input. He would use the camping experience throughout the year to hack into our coding courses. He inspired you to understand and break boundaries each day. He was defiantly on the learning edge by “taking risks to consider new perspectives and ideas” (Page 37). On a number of occasions, he was come into class and say “Starting today we need to do this differently”. Whether it was the live Christmas tree in the center of the room, coding programs that were being written or discussions that were held during class it seemed he was pushing the limits of our learning and the administrations tolerance. When the teacher is hacking the delivery of the learning everyone benefits. Those are the teacher that our few and far between. Which is sad to say as they should be the norm and not the unicorn.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe discussion about vulnerability resonated with me as these classes force me to confront things I have not thought about in ages which leaves me feeling vulnerable. I can see firsthand as a student that being open to exploring these topics and leaning into discomfort is better for learning, rather than coming in for a lecture every week. I agree that vulnerability is a crucial part of learning. Environments that are “safe to” explore and take risks yield greater results than one in which students are passive recipients of information. I also find this approach comforting as I do not have all the answers I am likely to be asked in the classroom. I like the idea of a classroom environment that focuses on collaboration and seeking answers as a group. This weeks’ readings continue to highlight the stores of knowledge all students are bringing into the classroom and to be culturally sustaining we must welcome that knowledge and figure out how to put it to work in the classroom. Humans respond to vulnerability because it allows true connections. Vulnerability is about putting aside pretense. It demonstrates that we are willing to admit what we don’t know and look for answers. As educators it shows our students that we are not infallible. In order to grow one must move out of their comfort zone. As stated in the text, “not knowing is an essential part of creativity (Garcia, O’Donnell-Allen, 36).” Not knowing inspires us to explore. It might be uncomfortable to admit that you do not know the answer to your students but admitting that shows students that it is ok not to know. Our job as educators is helping students know how to seek information and answers. The idea of hacking lessons in the classroom is about breaking things into smaller pieces, or “fiddle with it, in order to improve it (Garcia, O’Donnell-Allen, 33).” Where is the space for interpretation? What room is there for flexibility? We must be vulnerable learners to be effective teachers.
ReplyDelete