Saturday, June 7, 2014
Team 2 Chapter 7
Chapter 7, A Shift to Whole-Mind Instruction, discussed high stakes tests, how students are prepared for these tests and the types of questions that these tests ask. Jukes explains throughout the chapter that the way we are teaching students (because of these test) are not benefitting students in the working world today. He explains that low level questions (recall) were important in the world of industrial life in the 20th century because those were the skills employees needed. What are some skills that employees look for today? "Today's generation has discovered that memorizing is not nearly as important a skill as the skill of knowing how to get the information when you need it" said Jukes. Do you agree or disagree with this comment? Are we preparing students for a world that no longer exists? How can we change our instruction to help students develop skills they need in todays workforce?
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What skills are employers or SHOULD employers be looking for today? I found this great article from http://www.professionalpractice.org/about-us/skills_for_success_2/ here's what I found!
ReplyDeleteThe four skill clusters are:
-Digital-age literacy, which includes the various competencies expected in a 21st century workplace.
-Inventive thinking, which includes the ability to think outside the box.
-Effective communication, which is the ability to clearly communicate with a wide range of audiences.
-High productivity, which will be a requirement of success in the 21st Century workplace.
Personally, I love these "clusters" and I feel we could incorporate these skills into every classroom and content area.
I do agree that memorizing or recalling information is not as important as it ma have been before, we live in an age where people 'google' any question they have.I do believe we are missing out on many opportunities o better prep students for the real world. I think about many schools before graduating have a large project that must be completed usually involving research. Why not use that opportunity to allow students to figure out a REAL problem in the world and take small steps to try to address it?! Inventive thinking, thinking outside the box.
I do not believe that teachers are trying to build upon the skills that students need to be successful in todays workforce for a few reasons. It is not that they are cruel people who want to see students fail but instead they are not aware of what skills students who grow up in the digital world need. Many teachers did not grow up with all of this technology and are not aware of the skills that are needed to use it. They are simply teaching students what worked for them.
ReplyDeleteThe second reason I think that teachers are not helping students expand on their global awareness, use of technology or learning, and skilled communication is because that is not what is looked at on teachers APPR. As sad as it is the reality is that teachers are going to make sure that they do everything that the state says they need to (in order to score highly effective) instead of teaching students skills that they really need to have. The state is more worried about high stakes testing (recall) then helping our students become successful citizens.
I agree with everyone ! Our work force has shifted to a new set of skills and as teachers and the life long learners we all are, we need to shift too. I think that so many teachers are still caught up in the new APPR and common core standards business and how mad they are, that they aren't seeing the affects they are having on their students. I have seen many upset teachers who are "standing their ground" and "I have been doing it this way for X years" with the new common core, that they are also taking it out on their students but not letting them experience new tools. This is causing our students to enter a work field unprepared.
ReplyDeleteI would also have to agree with everyone! Teachers are not teaching their students to be ready for the work force. We are teaching them to be ready for a work force that has been passed by years ago. We need to be teaching our students how to use the technology that is at their fingertips and also teach them how to better use the technology that we have in the schools. In today’s society no one is expected to know everything about everything, but they should know how to find the information quickly and accurately. I tell my students all the time that if they are at home and forget how to solve a problem and can’t get a hold of me via email, then they should Google it and see what they come up with, and then show me what they found in class. So far my students have all looked at me like I was crazy for even mentioning that they use Google to look up math problems and said that it would be cheating to do that… My answer to them is how is it cheating if I tell you you can do it.
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