Place to Ponder

A place to ponder.....to sort, think, create and connect.

Sunday 2 February 2014

Shifting Delivery Methods




Two


This past Friday, four colleagues and I presented at an educational conference in Winnipeg. We shared information which had a focus on the importance of student voice, trust, creating a flexible learning environment and taking the steps to develop facilitation skills in order to move away from uniform content delivery. A few student created a video for us to use at this event. 

These students, in two days, developed a story board, shot the video, edited it and handed it to us. The message contained in the video was exactly what we wanted/needed for our presentation. 
To me, the picture stops right there. STUDENTS demonstrated the skills to complete the interviews, and edit a video, together, which represented the message the adults wanted to articulate. They are listening. They know the message. As an aside, the students met with their ELA teachers after and presented the finished video and clarified, with their teacher to  check off which outcomes they personally met while involved in this two day project. 
I can articulate the message. I am not able to produce or edit video in two day in the quality the students demonstrated. 
We have heard often that our educational system was based in industrialization (Agrarian  model fitting with the times) and the traditional delivery is for all students to master a set of prescribed skills in a prescribed order. Teachers were seen as experts in all fields and were expected to "fill those blank slates". 
As professionals we are motivated by the many, many professional development sessions encouraging us to facilitate, to innovate, to see that the needs of our global population are changing. We watch; we share with "elbow partners" and we come back taking very little time to reflect or adjust our practises in meaningful ways. We are stuck. 
Looking at my grandchildren (and noting their similarities to their mothers, with sheer personal enjoyment), I am personally and professionally motivated to make a difference in meaningful educational delivery. 
Most educators turn to technology and either try out some "new things" or say the technology is a problem, and because of it, students are distracted from the worksheets/rote learning/expert delivery of content. This cry creates systems limiting a tool that meets the needs of students in so many ways. 
Technology is a wonderful communication, production, networking tool. The complexity and innovation of technology is growing as people learn "what ever we imagine, we can create". What a powerful way to grow up. Limitless. 
What a disconnect with what is happening in many classrooms! We focus on the importance of engagement. Many of us enjoy the PD on increasing student engagement and then come back to classrooms and teach the same ways.....because that is what we know; grew up with; understand.  Limits. 
Time to change professional development. 

No comments:

Post a Comment