Sunday, September 17, 2017

Food for Thought: Teacher, who are we today?

Dear all,

It is obvious from the previous two posts that the role of the teacher needs to and is changing. We are no longer living in a world where the teachers role is to reinforce compliance and be the guardian of all knowledge in the classroom. This would be ridiculous in our world where knowledge is so freely available. Today's 5 year old will have been exposed to as much knowledge as their grandparents were by the time they were 20. Unless we dramatically move away from the idea of a teacher being primarily associated with knowledge our jobs could be under threat from AI.   So the big question that has to be asked is what is the role of a teacher working in the 21st century. This Food for Thought will NOT answer this question but I hope it will provoke reflection about who we are and what we need to be to maximize the potential of our students and prepare them for the future they will face.

The term teacher has been bothering me for a number of years because its root lies in the past when the "teacher" was mostly likely to be the main source of knowledge in the room. This is no longer the case as information/ knowledge is ubiquitous thanks to technology. The teachers role has become so multi faceted that it could be argued that maintaining the name is demeaning of the importance of this position in society today. Changing the name may help accelerate the change in perception and role of this important person in society. By using dynamic and exciting teaching methodologies, our students are drawn into the world of self actualization and realization of their aims, aspirations, dreams, goals and hopes. Collaboration, role play, data sharing, using the internet for research and reference should be normal in our classrooms. Hence, the role of the 'teacher' extends, at times, to beyond the classroom. Today a 'teacher' is a leader, a mentor, a role model, a counselor, a coach, a therapist, a seeker, a knowledge base, a disciplinarian, a data collector, a curriculum planner, an event manager and an entertainer among many other functions.

In their latest book, Bold Moves, Heidi Jacobs and Marie Alcock, take a look at the changing role and description of a teacher. they decide that future schools should be looking for people who demonstrate the following capacities to be working with students:


  • Teacher as self navigating and professional learner
  • Teacher as social contractor
  • Teacher as media critic, media maker, and publisher
  • Teacher as innovative designer
  • Teacher as globally connected citizen
  • Teacher as advocate for learner and learning

To see more detail about the about the above capacities please follow this link.

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Photo Credit: Ken Whytock Flickr via Compfight cc

Hence in this Food for Thought I have decided to provide a few provocations to make us thinker deeper about what our role may be in the future. This article is from Edutopia and through Project Based Learning points to our changing role as facilitator of learning.

"Deep learning is messy and complicated. My most fulfilling teaching days are filled with overlapping student voices, surprise, and opportunity. As I circulate around the room, I speak with young people who are grappling with challenges, generating and then revising ideas, and finding their way through the multiple stages of project creation. Depending on the day, my students may be sprawled out on the floor in groups, sitting individually and staring down their work on a screen, in quiet spaces editing video or audio, or out in the world interviewing, filming, or researching.
Project-based learning transforms the roles of students and teachers in ways that benefit all. This de-centering of the classroom and of knowledge helps students develop a sense of agency as learners and as people. If teachers maintain traditional notions of students as information recipients, teaching and learning become a pointless game where, instead of connection and engagement, the main challenge for students is to read the teacher's mind while producing a product in which they don't feel invested.
The Coalition of Essential Schools developed the metaphor of students as workers, with teachers as mentors or coaches. My time as a project-based teacher has helped me to examine this metaphor and expand upon it. Because my goal is to design learning that challenges students intellectually and creatively, I think of my students as creators, and I shift between multiple roles as I frame the learning, design inquiry-based units, help students generate ideas, provide models of work, consult with students, give feedback on rough work, and structure experiences so that there's an audience for student work.
In the interest of redefining the roles of students and teachers, I offer the following glimpses into aspects of teacher practice in successful PBL settings."
I am going to end with two TED talks from ordinary teachers talking about their experience in their modern day role. The first is by Joe Ruhl a Science teacher of over 37 years who stresses the importance of the modern skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity and caring that he believes should be present in all classrooms. Mr Ruhl is nearing retirement, has won numerous teaching awards and has clearly not been scared to adapt his teaching techniques to engage his students of the 21st century.


Finally, an English teacher who found a more radically new lease of life as a teacher in her school North Carolina. There is not only great learning and being a life long learner to be had from this talk, but also role modelling how teaching can go beyond the classroom and energize students to make a difference in their community. It is interesting that "her career turning point came when her students became her teachers, challenging her to live up to her potential and to push past her fears." This talk raises the fascinating question of where does our modern role of learning facilitator actually stop? As Heidi Hayes Jacobs talks about in her book, there needs to be a redefinition of the roles of both teachers and students, how they interact and how the systems ans policies we have in place support these changing needs.


Hope you have enjoyed this trilogy of Food for Thoughts.

Have a good Sunday,

Yours
Adrian

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