new roles. They are capable not only of constantly adapting, but also constantly learning and growing in a fast-changing world. In a flat world, our knowl- edge becomes a commodity available to everyone else. As columnist and author Thomas Friedman puts it, because technology has enabled us to act on our imagi- nations in ways that we could never before, the most important competition is no longer between countries or companies but between ourselves and our imagina- tion” (see Footnote 3).
There is a need for students to invest in their learning. Entrepreneurial skills can provide students with this relevance to their future jobs in a global marketplace.
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Too much adult intervention in learning will not help those that are self motivated. Homework is not outdated (it can be group-based work as well) but perhaps different children could be taught via different methods. So let’s tune the teaching to match the need—holistic was the word, as some- one here put it. There (needs to be a) curriculum for different learning types. That would perhaps require pre-testing the children to map out their strengths and wishes. After mapping they would be divided into groups that suit them best. Those that need more help are grouped, as are those that can work mainly by themselves. Other grouping systems could be used as well.
The key is to identify the strengths and the type of a child. Social activi- ties (extra-curricular or adapted) would then serve as group learning and in individual growth. Perhaps this could also reduce the interference caused by dysfunctional group behaviour in modern classrooms. … So the skills that are needed are capability for smart information retrieval (e.g., key word search) from social media, ability to combine modern learning tools in the classroom environment (usually this requires some funding though), and boldness to try out new methods (self-motivation for teaching is highly rec- ommended to prevent burn-out).—Carl Lange. Dec 13, 2012.
In the current diverse society, especially in the USA, it is important for a teacher to have an understanding about the diversity of her/his students and about the difference in their learning capabilities. Also, teachers should have a deep knowledge of the subject they teach.—Savita Gautam. Dec 18. 2012.
Lange advocates streaming students:
A few posters turned attention to the nature of the guidance provided to students.
The teacher is a gentle, but firm coach:
«As a coach, the teacher has to orient all students so that their individual expectations of what they are capable of are fulfilled by their own work. Students should further be chal- lenged through the next, new work according to their natural internal resources, their per- sonality and their own desire for achievement.»—Dorin Isoc. Dec 19 2012.
Remember too that «the student is a living and (rational) being.»—Dorin Isoc. Dec 26 2012.
«Without doubt, the teacher should create a congenial environment in the lecture hall or in the laboratory, strengthening the teacher–taught relationship. This would cer- tainly attract more students. All concerned should display congeniality to improve the teaching.»—Sanjay Mishra. Jan 4, 2013.
K: Knowing Your Students, Caring for Them
The next day he continues:
«The strategy of the teacher should be one of caring according to the standard of the class and student. The teacher should be flexible enough in dealing with the students to run the class/lecture/laboratory smoothly, thereby providing a strong base and further path to pol- ish (“sunshine”) their credentials.»—Sanjay Mishra. Jan 5, 2013.
The need for humanity is emphasised by another poster.
When we discuss the role of education and how the paradigm needs some alteration,
… we (must) still consider the essential allowance for personal growth and the human element—there will always be the human classroom teacher who meets the student.
—Jonathan Edwards. Dec 10, 2012.
He later paints a cynical view of the hyper-efficient production-line model for teaching:
OK, no curriculum, and while we are at it, seriously, let’s throw out home- work. The immediacy of the digital classroom undermines the Industrial Age
“efficiency” element of a static, blow-by-blow plan that defines the work- er’s place and the product’s place along the assembly line at any given time;
also, homework is the element of pedagogical activity that is out-of-context.
… There has to be a human facilitator, mentor, guide, at the point in the pro- cess where the student must reflect and express subjectivity, and this point cannot be rushed or ignored.
The best teacher is “with” the student at every crucial step in the learning process, sharing in the learning and the teaching. As inefficient as it has been made to seem, human context for learning cannot be avoided. Games (too) have their place, but let’s not make the same mistake with video games that was made with television, which was turned into a “babysitter”.—Jonathan Edwards. Dec 13, 2012.
While the posters desire to know students, and care for their needs is para- mount, we ask what kind of knowing is needed and how is it acquired and used productively? Powell and Kusuma-Powell (2011, ASCD) discuss some of these challenges in their chapter entitled “Knowing our students as learners”. They pre- sent five dimensions of learner identity:
Biological Traits
Cultural and Societal Factors Emotional and Social Influences Learning Preferences
Academic Performance.
Today, research and experience in the increasingly global classrooms are revealing the interplay of factors that influence students’ learning. Educators understand that the complex business of coming to know our students as learners is simply too
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important to leave to chance—and that the peril of not undertaking this inquiry is in not reaching out to students at all.