I got carried away in my last post thinking about how important it is to know our students and to let them lead at times. We definitely can gain so much by understanding their interests. When we follow their interests, they are more motivated and will do some of their best work, perhaps work that we never thought they could accomplish. I had to research a strategy called I-Search papers for another class. Instead of traditional research papers, they allow students to seek answers to questions that are important to them, mostly by working with primary sources, personal interviews and site visits. Then they write narratives of the whole search experience. They are such great ways to get kids motivated about research and learning in general.
However, in addition to knowing our students, I thought about other great sources of information for us as teachers. Our great class discussions brought me back to the thought of coaching, peer coaching in particular. I wish every teacher could be in a group of teacher-learners. Whether it be a grad class or a discussion group at school, these interactions are invaluable. I listen to teachers sharing ideas for teaching various strategies or skills and also bringing up bigger philosophical or systemic questions, from universal pre-k to the importance phonological awareness for the hearing impaired. This is incredible stuff that keeps us thinking and working to deliver instruction in ever-better ways.
I don't want to forget the parents either. I've been in both situations where parents hover continually and where I've struggled to make contact with parents, but either way, they know their children best and can give us insights that we may never see in school. Likewise, we may see things in their children that they don't experience at home. If we keep the lines of communication open and make an effort to continually share information, the children benefit. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/listening-to-students-elena-aguilar
Then, I was reading a article about getting to know ourselves as teachers, our strengths and weaknesses, and how to work with those. It was good to reflect on that, too, rather than just hurrying from one task to another. Reflection time is so valuable. http://smartblogs.com/education/2012/10/05/knowing-ourselves-enables-us-help-others/
I'm definitely an idealist when I think through all these situations, but if we can at least aim for the ideal, I'm sure we can improve instruction, even in a small way, for our students.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Who's the MKO (More Knowledgeable Other) and are you in your ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development)?
As you can probably tell from the title, I've been thinking about innovators in education. Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) coined these terms, MKO (More Knowledgeable Other) and ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development), to explain his theory of learning. He observed that there were periods in which a child could further his/her understanding (ZPD) when an MKO helped connect the new information or skill to existing knowledge. The connections (scaffolding) would be made by social interaction between the MKO and the child.
Vygotsky used these terms to refer to a child's learning, however, I got to thinking more about MKOs and ZPDs. Who are my MKOs? Where is my ZPD? Clearly, the educational innovators, such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori, Froebel, and Wollstonecraft, are MKOs. Although none of their theories are implemented in whole today, pieces are evident throughout current educational thinking and practice, even though some ideas were conceived nearly a century or more in the past. Their ideas transcend their times and make us think about our teaching practices.
Maria Montessori (1870–1952) looked at the children as her MKOs. She felt that teachers must be the observers of children, learning each one's interests and how he/she learns. The children would lead the teachers in how to assist them. In other words, teachers would always have to be in a ZPD to know how to help children in their learning. That's a great challenge for us as educators today. Have we really gotten to know our students and how they learn? Sometimes we move ahead so quickly with our own lesson plans, we don't take enough time to observe. Maybe our classrooms should be a ZPD for us, instead of us always trying to be the knowledge-givers.
Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852) began that beautiful "kindergarten." Like Montessori, he felt that children should have a role in their learning. He respected them and allowed them to learn through creativity and play. I know we're all pretty committed as educators to engage our students with creative learning opportunities. But it never hurts to be reminded of his happy kindergarten, full of creative energy, exploration, talking, games, crafts, movement, and music.
Children were also Jean Piaget's (1896–1980) MKOs. He learned about their development by observing them. He, too, saw that they needed to play an active role in their learning. He reminds us to value process over product, encourage collaboration, and respect children's individual rates of development.
In this age of assessment and accountability, teachers are put in the role of MKO and even have to prove our worth. So it's hard to take a step back and let the children lead us a little. But I hope we can take the time to learn from our students. They make us better teachers. Here's to being in a continual ZPD.
Lastly, I want to mention Mary Wollstonecraft (1959–1979), who was an advocate for higher education for women. Without her and other reformers like her, who knows where I'd be? Definitely not in grad school! When thinking about her saying, "Education held the key to achieving a sense of self-respect and a new self-image that would enable women to put their capacities to good use," I can't help but think of the 14-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Mousufzai, who clings to life after being shot by the Taliban because she stood up for girls' right to education. What an incredible and horrible situation! Such a thing should not happen in today's world. Young Malala is a courageous reformer, as much or more than these others we have studied. She reminds me how precious education is. I hope we will continue to champion her cause and make equal education available to all, despite gender, race, or social status.
Vygotsky used these terms to refer to a child's learning, however, I got to thinking more about MKOs and ZPDs. Who are my MKOs? Where is my ZPD? Clearly, the educational innovators, such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Montessori, Froebel, and Wollstonecraft, are MKOs. Although none of their theories are implemented in whole today, pieces are evident throughout current educational thinking and practice, even though some ideas were conceived nearly a century or more in the past. Their ideas transcend their times and make us think about our teaching practices.
Maria Montessori (1870–1952) looked at the children as her MKOs. She felt that teachers must be the observers of children, learning each one's interests and how he/she learns. The children would lead the teachers in how to assist them. In other words, teachers would always have to be in a ZPD to know how to help children in their learning. That's a great challenge for us as educators today. Have we really gotten to know our students and how they learn? Sometimes we move ahead so quickly with our own lesson plans, we don't take enough time to observe. Maybe our classrooms should be a ZPD for us, instead of us always trying to be the knowledge-givers.
Friedrich Froebel (1782–1852) began that beautiful "kindergarten." Like Montessori, he felt that children should have a role in their learning. He respected them and allowed them to learn through creativity and play. I know we're all pretty committed as educators to engage our students with creative learning opportunities. But it never hurts to be reminded of his happy kindergarten, full of creative energy, exploration, talking, games, crafts, movement, and music.
Children were also Jean Piaget's (1896–1980) MKOs. He learned about their development by observing them. He, too, saw that they needed to play an active role in their learning. He reminds us to value process over product, encourage collaboration, and respect children's individual rates of development.
In this age of assessment and accountability, teachers are put in the role of MKO and even have to prove our worth. So it's hard to take a step back and let the children lead us a little. But I hope we can take the time to learn from our students. They make us better teachers. Here's to being in a continual ZPD.
Lastly, I want to mention Mary Wollstonecraft (1959–1979), who was an advocate for higher education for women. Without her and other reformers like her, who knows where I'd be? Definitely not in grad school! When thinking about her saying, "Education held the key to achieving a sense of self-respect and a new self-image that would enable women to put their capacities to good use," I can't help but think of the 14-year-old Pakistani girl, Malala Mousufzai, who clings to life after being shot by the Taliban because she stood up for girls' right to education. What an incredible and horrible situation! Such a thing should not happen in today's world. Young Malala is a courageous reformer, as much or more than these others we have studied. She reminds me how precious education is. I hope we will continue to champion her cause and make equal education available to all, despite gender, race, or social status.
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