I also mentioned the idea of dialogic questions in my response. I think these are so important because it shows that, even if it may be a little scary for teachers, there is always room for everyone to grow and learn and develop new ideas and opinions. The students shouldn't see the teacher as an all-knowing expert who is infallible (or sees him/herself as infallible), but rather as an ally in their own learning who can model success and good learning habits. Without dialogical questions, this is hard to achieve.
I was also impressed at the hands-off approach of the teachers in the video. However, I feel that this can be beneficial to students. If we treat them as though they are in need of constant supervision, even in high school, we may create a fulfilling prophecy in which helicopter-teaching creates a need to rebel or act out the second the teacher turns his/her back. If we can show that they have earned our trust, I believe that they will return this respect.
The prospect of asking my students open-ended questions that even I don't know the answer to scares me, but excites me at the same time. Like you alluded to in your video, Johanna, there's this (outdated) stigma that teachers should always know the answer. But, there's also something really appealing about working together with your kids to answer a question, or watching your kids engaged in good conversation as they tackle this question as a team.
Liz and Joanna - I like asking those kinds of questions as it immediately allows me to MODEL the learning process alongside my students. So, if as an English teacher, you are the "lead reader" and "lead writer" - you are also the "lead learner." Make sense? It isn't EVERY time - but it is often enough that you are a model for what it means to learn.
Hey Joanna,
ReplyDeleteI also mentioned the idea of dialogic questions in my response. I think these are so important because it shows that, even if it may be a little scary for teachers, there is always room for everyone to grow and learn and develop new ideas and opinions. The students shouldn't see the teacher as an all-knowing expert who is infallible (or sees him/herself as infallible), but rather as an ally in their own learning who can model success and good learning habits. Without dialogical questions, this is hard to achieve.
I was also impressed at the hands-off approach of the teachers in the video. However, I feel that this can be beneficial to students. If we treat them as though they are in need of constant supervision, even in high school, we may create a fulfilling prophecy in which helicopter-teaching creates a need to rebel or act out the second the teacher turns his/her back. If we can show that they have earned our trust, I believe that they will return this respect.
The prospect of asking my students open-ended questions that even I don't know the answer to scares me, but excites me at the same time. Like you alluded to in your video, Johanna, there's this (outdated) stigma that teachers should always know the answer. But, there's also something really appealing about working together with your kids to answer a question, or watching your kids engaged in good conversation as they tackle this question as a team.
ReplyDeleteLiz and Joanna - I like asking those kinds of questions as it immediately allows me to MODEL the learning process alongside my students. So, if as an English teacher, you are the "lead reader" and "lead writer" - you are also the "lead learner." Make sense? It isn't EVERY time - but it is often enough that you are a model for what it means to learn.
ReplyDelete