Growing up, school was a robotic chore. Get up in the morning, eat, dress, go to school, learn something, come home, have dinner, sleep. Then repeat this process over and over again for 10 months of the year. At the 'school' part of this process, I learned traditionally. A teacher stood at the front of the class, taught the subject and I, the student, did what the teacher told me to do. I was a passive learner in a teacher centered learning experience. Once in a while I was graded with a letter telling me where I was at in the subject. If I got a C, this meant I was doing okay in the class, but I could do better, if I got an A, I was doing well. Whether or not I was confused, this was my grade.. NO exceptions. This is normal, this is what school is... at least I thought.
School worked for me. I made it through the system and successfully entered university. However, I have felt sincerely sorry for the people I knew who slipped through the cracks. I never understood growing up, why people failed a class. I thought it was because they were lazy and did not care about their future. I WAS WRONG. As the text explains, there are many types of curriculum evolving that work in different ways to meet a students needs, not just traditionally and teacher centered. For example, the text explains about project-based learning curriculum.
"Students in a project based learning classroom... learn while doing the project, because the project is the vehicle for simultaneous instruction and application. Students apply an inquiry process to answer an open-ended driving question that arises out of their genuine interest and desire to know (Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2014 )."
Not only would this style have worked for myself, but I know and believe my fellow classmates would have benefited from this student centered learning approach rather then traditional teaching methods.
As a catalyst for change, education is beginning to take one step forward toward a new story. It is evident in the various curriculum's (like the one mentioned above) that not only are teachers beginning to create a student-centered classroom but they are allowing for students meta-cognitive process to develop. While reading the text, the improved processes of assessment really caught my eye. Teachers are trying to provide students with a "building growth mindset" in which they are to evaluate work based solely on the work rather then grading a fellow students work (Drake et al., 2014). This process encourages students to think about how they are graded and empower them with new knowledge and success in future projects. In addition, teachers are beginning to provide students with a personalized formative feedback throughout the process of learning to promote this development.
The change is evident and continuous, and in my opinion the key to this change is: There are always two sides to the story. It is not only about students changing but the teacher needs to change as well to meet the needs of individual students. As the text says, the teacher is the 'change agent' who increases learning between both students and the teacher themselves (Drake et al., 2014).
I believe this change is necessary, and this chapter has provided me with new meaning and understanding of the 'new-story.' I believe we are moving towards a generation that promotes individual success and self-determination and the only way that this can happen is if it is supplied with in the education system.
Thank you,
Missemilyp
This photo resembles to movement of 'old-story' to 'new-story'. There is an ever changing growth and development of students who learn differently and succeed differently. I can't climb a tree. My brother can climb a tree. We are two different people who learn differently and the tree resembles our differences.
Resources
Drake, S., Reid, J., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Toward a New story of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment. In Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21st-century learner. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford Univrsity press.
