I never knew how much students could accomplish on their own, without much guidance, until I watched TED with Sugata Mitra. No, this is not the goal for a teacher, to just give the material, and have the students learn it on their own. But, it does allow us to open our eyes a bit to the different types of learning opportunities available to students. Students need to be given the chance to inquire, but that also needs to be supported in a positive manner. Rather that is a teacher leading the students to a new question, or group follow-ups, where everyone can learn from each other, students need to be pushed to think on their own.
Educational specialist Sugata Mitra did some amazing research. He went to areas in the world where there are no teachers. He gave the students educational technology, and left. When he checked in with the students months later learning had happened. Remember, these students has never seen a computer, and didn't even speak the language, but they were still able to teach themselves. There is a huge value in being able to learn on your own, being able to learn from others, and to be able to teach others. Teachers need to start looking at all the different ways students can learn, not necessarily just from the teachers themselves, but from other sources. We need to make students question things, not just give them the answers, or show them how to do it, or how it works. We need to develop the minds of the students, and teach them, and encourage them to inquire about their world.
I loved this TED Talk! I was absolutely amazed at what these students were able to essentially teach themselves. Who would have thought that leaving computers in rural areas with Internet connection would inspire such drastic changes, including such areas as speech patterns? I would have no idea how to record music and those kids, without ever having access to a computer before, were able to record themselves and listen to their music. It was inspiring to see how these children were able to learn and make such amazing academic gains because the interest was there. It was truly inspiring.
ReplyDeleteRachael and Jerusha,
ReplyDeleteI, also, was completely blown away by Sugata Mitra's results! As the mother of an 11 year old and an 8 year old, I wonder if we challenge our children (and students) too little. How could we structure our classes (and our homes) to not only support our students, but to push them for the most they might be able to accomplish? This video really opened my eyes to the possibilities for self-direction that each child possesses, but has never been asked to call upon.