Podcast 11/15: Teaching and Learning with David Sanon Kathleen Jasper November 15, 2013 8 Comments 8 Responses Adam S. November 16, 2013 Great job guys! It is about time that educators take a stand for effective teaching. We often say that “it is all about the students”. We would miss the mark if we fail to address these issues. They are very relevant to teaching/learning. These two elements should go hand in hand. We become robotic and rigid with a system that controls everything we(teachers) do. If we talk a lot by just following a curriculum that dictates the teaching process, we might think that we are great teachers, however, our students may not comprehend anything we say or do. We may not challenge them at all. As a Bilingual Assistant who goes from classroom to classroom, I would like to see a slight shift or approach in our classrooms. David’s points are so vital in creating a new generation of thinkers. This ‘one size fits all’ system may be a disservice to our students. Since it is never to late to do what is right,let’s link our arms and recue them to a higher lever of thinking and proactivity.The kids are our future. keep up the good work! I am listening. Adam S. Reply Kathleen Jasper November 16, 2013 I love when you say our students may not comprehend what we say or do without us even knowing it, in fact. We might think were are doing an effective job, when in reality, we are not reaching our students. And you are correct; we do have to create a new generation of thinkers. We are no longer in the industrialized era. We must evolve our practice according to the changes in society and learning preferences. Thanks for your comments! Reply David Sanon November 16, 2013 I am glad you enjoyed the podcast. You are so right in saying that a shift is needed. I believe the shift is ready to begin, as more and more students, parents, and teachers are becoming frustrated with the current system. I look forward to seeing what teaching looks like 10, 20, 30 years from now. Of course we can start TODAY by making small changes in our classrooms. Keep listening! Reply Annmarie Ferry November 17, 2013 I love David’s point about being able to control teaching, but not necessarily the learning that must be negotiated by the learner. This is when learning is meaningful and authentic. On the observation point: Teacher leaders at our school are encouraging and facilitating those observations (with not evaluation). I cannot wait for that to really take off where people are ASKING for that. Kudos to Brendan for bravely bringing up that as teachers we sometimes think we do everything the best way and cannot wrap our brains around what others can teach us. Just like the students, adults must negotiate learning, and that means being open to the possibility that you may not be doing everything perfectly! Reply Annmarie Ferry November 17, 2013 I love David’s point about being able to control teaching, but not necessarily the learning that must be negotiated by the learner. This is when learning is meaningful and authentic. On the observation point: leaders at our school are encouraging and facilitating those observations (with not evaluation). I cannot wait for that to really take off where people are ASKING for that. Kudos to Brendan for bravely bringing up that as teachers we sometimes think we do everything the best way and cannot wrap our brains around what others can teach us. Just like the students, adults must negotiate learning, and that means being open to the possibility that you may not be doing everything perfectly! Reply Kathleen Jasper November 17, 2013 I thought David’s point about how learning has to be negotiated by the student not the teacher was so powerful. In fact as we were preparing for the interview, he talked about that negotiation with Brendan and me. It was so awesome I wrote in down on our white board and made sure he referenced it in the interview. SO powerful! As teachers we like to control because it feels safer that way. I am the biggest control freak when it comes to students. But I am learning that to allow students to actually negotiate their own learning, I have to let go. I have to let them sit in the driver’s seat. I must facilitate and observe and be careful not to impede the process. Thanks for your comments Annmarie. We love hearing from you! Reply Maryfischer November 24, 2013 Student learning is what we want to achieve. It is all about rigor (yes) relevance and relationships more importantly . You guys are on track….change needs to happen….you are leading us to real conversation….thank you!! Reply Kathleen Jasper November 24, 2013 We appreciate your support Mary. You are right about upping the rigor in the classroom. Also, educators must understand that relinquishing control and allowing students to navigate and negotiate their own learning is the only way for true understanding to take place. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Your email address will not be published. Name* Email* Website Comment Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Adam S. November 16, 2013 Great job guys! It is about time that educators take a stand for effective teaching. We often say that “it is all about the students”. We would miss the mark if we fail to address these issues. They are very relevant to teaching/learning. These two elements should go hand in hand. We become robotic and rigid with a system that controls everything we(teachers) do. If we talk a lot by just following a curriculum that dictates the teaching process, we might think that we are great teachers, however, our students may not comprehend anything we say or do. We may not challenge them at all. As a Bilingual Assistant who goes from classroom to classroom, I would like to see a slight shift or approach in our classrooms. David’s points are so vital in creating a new generation of thinkers. This ‘one size fits all’ system may be a disservice to our students. Since it is never to late to do what is right,let’s link our arms and recue them to a higher lever of thinking and proactivity.The kids are our future. keep up the good work! I am listening. Adam S. Reply
Kathleen Jasper November 16, 2013 I love when you say our students may not comprehend what we say or do without us even knowing it, in fact. We might think were are doing an effective job, when in reality, we are not reaching our students. And you are correct; we do have to create a new generation of thinkers. We are no longer in the industrialized era. We must evolve our practice according to the changes in society and learning preferences. Thanks for your comments! Reply
David Sanon November 16, 2013 I am glad you enjoyed the podcast. You are so right in saying that a shift is needed. I believe the shift is ready to begin, as more and more students, parents, and teachers are becoming frustrated with the current system. I look forward to seeing what teaching looks like 10, 20, 30 years from now. Of course we can start TODAY by making small changes in our classrooms. Keep listening! Reply
Annmarie Ferry November 17, 2013 I love David’s point about being able to control teaching, but not necessarily the learning that must be negotiated by the learner. This is when learning is meaningful and authentic. On the observation point: Teacher leaders at our school are encouraging and facilitating those observations (with not evaluation). I cannot wait for that to really take off where people are ASKING for that. Kudos to Brendan for bravely bringing up that as teachers we sometimes think we do everything the best way and cannot wrap our brains around what others can teach us. Just like the students, adults must negotiate learning, and that means being open to the possibility that you may not be doing everything perfectly! Reply
Annmarie Ferry November 17, 2013 I love David’s point about being able to control teaching, but not necessarily the learning that must be negotiated by the learner. This is when learning is meaningful and authentic. On the observation point: leaders at our school are encouraging and facilitating those observations (with not evaluation). I cannot wait for that to really take off where people are ASKING for that. Kudos to Brendan for bravely bringing up that as teachers we sometimes think we do everything the best way and cannot wrap our brains around what others can teach us. Just like the students, adults must negotiate learning, and that means being open to the possibility that you may not be doing everything perfectly! Reply
Kathleen Jasper November 17, 2013 I thought David’s point about how learning has to be negotiated by the student not the teacher was so powerful. In fact as we were preparing for the interview, he talked about that negotiation with Brendan and me. It was so awesome I wrote in down on our white board and made sure he referenced it in the interview. SO powerful! As teachers we like to control because it feels safer that way. I am the biggest control freak when it comes to students. But I am learning that to allow students to actually negotiate their own learning, I have to let go. I have to let them sit in the driver’s seat. I must facilitate and observe and be careful not to impede the process. Thanks for your comments Annmarie. We love hearing from you! Reply
Maryfischer November 24, 2013 Student learning is what we want to achieve. It is all about rigor (yes) relevance and relationships more importantly . You guys are on track….change needs to happen….you are leading us to real conversation….thank you!! Reply
Kathleen Jasper November 24, 2013 We appreciate your support Mary. You are right about upping the rigor in the classroom. Also, educators must understand that relinquishing control and allowing students to navigate and negotiate their own learning is the only way for true understanding to take place. Reply
