I recently read two things that were related, but not something that most people would read one after the other. The first was the Course Information from a Stanford Computer Science course. The next morning, I can across an article about the Siemens Company’s new permanent work policy. It doesn’t seem that these are related, but the are. They also hold important things for us to remember. Siemens’ new policy is just two sentences, but it speaks volumes. As a teacher, it tells me which way industry is going and reminds me of how I should be in class. The two big take always from the statement:
This goes hand in hand with a part of the Stanford Description. I’ve included and excerpt here: Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning in a Time of Pandemic (by Prof. Brandon Bayne, UNC – Chapel Hill; with light adjustments for CS103)
This just speaks for itself. When you get down to it, Items 2-4 should be how we teach all the time. There isn’t anything about it that isn’t great teaching practice to make sure that all learners have the opportunity and supports to succeed. As I am writing this, a tweet popped up from a friend of mine, Mary Kemper. It’s about creating supports for learners to help them be successful. Like I said the other day. The tool isn’t the key. The most important thing is that the tool helps us get the result we want As we move into the new school year. Keep these things at the forefront of everything you do for class, and you can’t go wrong. The old ways of doing things just won’t cut it any more. It’s time to support everyone and empower everyone to be successful.
Finally, I have to say that I am proud of the collaborative team I am on. We have been taking these things to heart. Over the summer, we have reworked our curriculum many times. We got clever and creative as we tried to think about the situation and shoehorn our old curriculum into the new reality. The other week, we made the decision to keep it simple, focus on one thing only and go deep. We are still bringing our learners to mastery of our content, but we have changed to be laser focused on doing one thing and doing it great. I can’t wait.
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I was just listening to the Automators podcast today. In the discussion, one of the hosts (David Sparks) told about the time he took advantage of the opportunity to learn from a master woodworker. In the early part of his time there, David was studying the tools in the shop. The artist stopped his work to refocus David. The artist said that the tools were immaterial. He "would use his teeth if he had to." Too often, we make the same mistake in school. We focus on the tools and design our lessons that way. When I say tool, I am talking about all sorts of things, such as devices, web interfaces, and apps. Starting to design a lesson or even unit of study by picking the tool is wrong on so many levels. I’m not saying that the tools we use are important. Far from it. What I am saying is that we should pick a tool based on how well it helps learners reach the learning outcome we are looking for. Let’s be honest. The digital tools of today are going to change and evolve soon. Who knows what we will really be using in 5-10 years. When we look at what skills are being sought after in the workplace, it’s not the technical skills at the top of the list, it is the “soft-skills.” I talk about the need for soft skills and several articles highlighting this need in my post here (link) No digital tool in existence (or in the future) is the end all, be all. What matters is the teacher designing lessons built on relationships and strong, research based pedagogy. Digital tools offer us opportunities that we didn’t have possible before. We have the ability to collaborate with others that are not in the room with us. We can design experiences and challenges that require learners to work on interdependent teams, develop stronger personal accountability skills, and interact with a wide range of people in and out of the classroom. As learners work with these challenges, they must build the necessary content skills and learning needed to solve the problem. In other words, the tool(s) should be chosen to suit the need. When we teach learners to analyze a situation and problem and then select an appropriate tool to use, we empower that learner to be more confident in any situation that arises. Links |
About me & this blogThis blog is for things related to my class, PL, coaching, or just teaching in general. You can follow me on Twitter @myakSTEM Archives
June 2021
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