The Deconstruction of the K-12 Teacher

[HHW]

An article from the The Atlantic was making the rounds recently, and I thought I'd share. I'd love to have some opinions on this from CP. A lengthy article, and definitely written from a traditional point of view, but it does raise interesting points regarding the role of teachers going forward. These are not new concerns to any teacher having entered the profession within the last ten years, but there is most definitely a lot of angst and resistance out there.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education...eacher/388631/

The relatively recent emergence of the Internet, and the ever-increasing ease of access to web, has unmistakably usurped the teacher from the former role as dictator of subject content. These days, teachers are expected to concentrate on the "facilitation" of factual knowledge that is suddenly widely accessible.

In 2012, for example, MindShift’s Aran Levasseur wrote that "all computing devices—from laptops to tablets to smartphones—are dismantling knowledge silos and are therefore transforming the role of a teacher into something that is more of a facilitator and coach." Joshua Starr, a nationally prominent superintendent, recently told NPR, "I ask teachers all the time, if you can Google it, why teach it?" And it’s already become a cliche that the teacher should transfer from being a "sage on the stage" to being "a guide on the side."

From my perspective: I teach tech courses at a high school, including a course which uses a MOOC (Mass Open Online Course) instead of a textbook. I still mentor, help interpret, contextualize, assist, and assess, but I do not spend an inordinate amount of time in re-inventing the wheel (i.e. creating lesson plans for ever-evolving technology that have already been made to a very high level of quality)

This type of format is openly welcomed by about half of my class, and they thrive. However, it is the other half of the class that would not necessarily be successfull in a self-directed format. Many factors: ESL, difficulty in self-starting, non-visual learning styles, ADHD, lack of internet acces, or just simply wanting to have a more interactive experience. IMO, that is exactly where teachers still have a place, and as long as our education system and society recognizes this, the use of online resources from MOOCs and super-teachers will be a massively positive influence and nothing to be feared. There have always been teachers who simply teach from the text, and there always will be; used as a resource and as a starting point, these MOOCSs are simply a different (and often better) form of text, and they can be used as such.

BTW, I wholeheartedly agree with one of the comments:

"I'm more than a guide, and I'm rarely on the side."

[GGG]

I think these types of resources make good teachers more important than ever. You need someone who can take that online program and provide the real time answers and interpretation to help students. This is far more difficult then the crappy teachers teaching from the text.

So this type of delivery replaces ther terrible teacher but should allow good teachers to excel.

The big fight with the unions will be getting rid of the hit play techs and ensuring better rewards for the ones that add value in the classroom.

[loudi94]

http://philmcrae.com/2/post/2013/04/...personal1.html

"relationships, relationships, relationships"

[JohnnyB]

In the k-12 environment the role of schools and of teachers is much more than teaching subjects. Parents work and children spend more of their waking hours with their teachers than they do with their families. Schools and K-12 teachers are fundamentally involved in the raising of children.

Besides, it's a fallacy to think that teaching facts has been a solid base of education in the past as most facts are quickly forgotten by kids. Providing facts or access to information alone does not provide an environment to produce capable people. The best teachers have never been the best providers of factual information.

[Ashartus]

When I was in university a classmate of mine used say "information is not knowledge" and the truth of that has become more apparent to me over time. I've taught online courses (as well as in-person courses) and no matter how good the resources, links and information I provide are, students consistently say the thing they benefit the most from is interaction, discussion, and having their questions answered.

[Bill Bumface]

The thing that is more important now than factual knowledge, is the ability to perform solid research, and to apply critical thinking to facts and information you find.

I could use google to find all sorts of "facts" that are completely bogus, and secondary references to support those bogus facts. My education provides a strong base that helps me successfully navigate the wealth of information out there.

[DataDoxy]

They say that in the future, you will not be rewarded for what you already know, but for being able to learn what you have not yet been taught.

Like Wayne Gretzky, great education systems will not play where the puck is, but will play where it will be. We need to demand that schools educate our kids for tomorrow rather than continue to use traditional, antiquated methods that revolve around knowledge dissemination. Deep learning is active learning.