Blog 2: Teaching ELA in a "Flat" World
This chapter was a great way to summarize what teachers need to be teaching their students other than simply their content areas. Yes, it is important for students to be familiar with classical works of literature (for example). However, it is more important for students to be able to apply that knowledge and other skills to their future lives. I felt that Friedman's eight roles that the author mentioned could be summarized by the skill of critical thinking. Students need to be able to explain information, adapt solutions, etc., to be able to solve problems. Knowledge is important, but in today's world, it can be easily gained on the internet. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills cannot and are vital to all jobs and roles that students will have later in life.
One aspect that I can easily incorporate into my classroom is internet research. Too often, teachers require students to use only a few internet resources and rely mostly on physical books. This has even happened to me in college classes! I think that this is a ridiculous requirement. The internet has many convenient, reliable places to find information, and is more accessible to more students. Further, a resource's quality has little to do with the form it takes, and much more to do with the actual content of the resource. Students need to be able to determine what information is reliable and what is inaccurate, especially on the internet. They are constantly being bombarded with information on social media, the internet, and other media sources, and they need to be able to figure out what is true. This will be required in college, in their jobs, and in everyday life. I want to teach my students how to find truth in all contexts that they will encounter!
Discussion questions:
How can teachers conduct engaging online discussions so that students do not just participate for the sake of participating? (Example: Discussion forums at Olivet)
How can we teach students to be effective collaborators without letting one student take over, as often happens?
What are ways that we can encorporate environmental issues into content areas other than STEM?
One aspect that I can easily incorporate into my classroom is internet research. Too often, teachers require students to use only a few internet resources and rely mostly on physical books. This has even happened to me in college classes! I think that this is a ridiculous requirement. The internet has many convenient, reliable places to find information, and is more accessible to more students. Further, a resource's quality has little to do with the form it takes, and much more to do with the actual content of the resource. Students need to be able to determine what information is reliable and what is inaccurate, especially on the internet. They are constantly being bombarded with information on social media, the internet, and other media sources, and they need to be able to figure out what is true. This will be required in college, in their jobs, and in everyday life. I want to teach my students how to find truth in all contexts that they will encounter!
Discussion questions:
How can teachers conduct engaging online discussions so that students do not just participate for the sake of participating? (Example: Discussion forums at Olivet)
How can we teach students to be effective collaborators without letting one student take over, as often happens?
What are ways that we can encorporate environmental issues into content areas other than STEM?
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