Week Seven: Blog Post - Learning inHand

“I never teach my pupils.  I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.

--Albert Einstein

This quote paints the intent of these video’s.  Tony Vincent is great at presenting while explaining and instructing.  It is helping to frame and inform the structure that I am taking with my final project.

Tony like Eric Mazur puts great weight on the planning portion of the work they do.  It is about creating Driving Questions that cannot be answered easily.  I like Tony’s Project Based Learning quote, “Instead of teachers covering material, students uncover the answers.”  

Chris Lehmann in his presentation at the 012 Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference, says that, "Our schools have to be healthy places for adults before they can be healthy for our students.”  Before any Project Based Learning can happen, a healthy community needs to exist.  When we design projects that are going to extend a number of days we have to “know” our community.  We also, have to move out if a, “We can do.” to a, “We will do!” attitude.  As the emotional leaders of classrooms we lead through a positive momentum  As long as we maintain that truth, students will step up and create wonderful things.  Lehmann refers to that as it, “Get(ting) what you want, and you will get more then that."  

Annie - Newbury Elementary School 2003

I bring an aspect to the theater program when I collaborate with high school students.  That is a vision of continuity.  It is the same thing I do in my Visual Arts and Music classrooms.  I front load as much in the way of “problematizing everything.”  Being as proactive as much of the time while also realizing there will be moments that we will need to adjust.  A believe that, “If necessity is the mother of invention, then panic is the father.”  Anyone who believes they are the director of a play or chorus is loosing out on the opportunity of collaboration.  Working together towards the common vision of the group not the individual.

Much of what we have read and seen this semester centers on crafting great questions and creating integrated design.  I think we also need to remember that at some point during the process the educator has to become one of the collaborators.  It takes a seasoned educator that can step aside and learn with their students.

Max

I find it interesting that so much of the this course just make good educational sense.  My son is autistic or as we say now, Autastic!  When we meet with his teachers we ask them to think about Max as potentially one of their greatest teachers.  What he manifest through his verbal or physical commentary is what others are thinking but not saying.  This is typically met with a roll of the eye.  However, at the end of the year, his educators say how much they have learned about teaching from him.  In the same way with this course, what has been offered as suggestions continues to broadened my educational lexicon in the possibilities of ideas, community, technology and digital tools.