Edutopia - June/July 2008 - (Page 36)

Tech Talk What are your best tips for blending tech into your lessons? Add them at edutopia.org /tech-tips Today’s kids hate being talked at. They hate when teaching is simply telling. They hate lectures and tune them out. I’ve heard teachers argue that some subjects and topics need to have lectures, but, in truth, this is only a justi⇒cation for the failure of those teachers to change how they teach. It is absolutely not true; there are other ways, in any discipline, to get students to learn exactly the same material without lectures—as well as without worksheets, something else the kids tell us they really hate. There are better ways to help them learn, and students expect us, as the adults in the room, to know how to use them. They say, for example “If you made it more interesting we would respond better.” And, “If you give us a goal to get to, we’ll get there.” Students universally tell us they prefer questions rather than answers, sharing their opinions, group projects, working with real-world issues and people, and teachers who talk to them as equals rather than as inferiors. Hopefully, this is useful information for teachers and other educators—and it is important that educators realize just how universal these opinions are. “I waited twelve years for this.” (Texas) “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it!” (Texas) “As a general rule, you don’t hear from kids unless they’ve gotten into trouble.” (Anaheim, California) “Both groups [teachers and students] can learn from each other.” (Anaheim, California) “If you don’t talk to us, you have no idea what we’re thinking.” (Hawaii) Clearly, the kids ⇒nd it valuable to share with their educators their opinions on how they want to learn. Although skeptical, they hope those teachers and administrators who are trying to improve their education think so, too, and listen carefully to what the students have to say. Again, quoting the kids: “My Brain Is Exploding . . .” For me, though, the best part of the student panels is always hearing the kids’ answers to my ⇒nal question. I ask about their experience that day and whether their soapbox proved useful. “How do you like being able to talk to your teachers and supervisors about your learning?” I ask. I truly love their answers: “It would be good if teachers have this conversation with us on the ⇒rst day. But often, they don’t change anything.” (Texas) “I hope this didn’t just go in one ear and out the other.” (Texas) Have there been any quanti⇒able results in terms of real changes to the students’ daily lives? It’s hard (and probably early) to tell, although I do know for certain that the panels have had an in⇓uence on the administrators in the audiences. Many superintendents have invited me back to do the talks and panels again for their principals and teachers. Australian administrators distributed a three-CD set of the kids’ discussions to every teacher they supervise. My great hope is that, once modeled, these types of conversations will be repeated frequently in our schools, in the United States, and around the world. Nearly two-thirds of secondary school students want to use laptops, “I like the fact that we become equals. Students do not get the opportunity that often to share their ideas. If students and teachers could collaborate, a lot more would get done.” (Anaheim, California) “A lot of students care—you just don’t realize it.” (Poway, California) “Most of the time, the teachers are talking and I want to go to sleep. But now my brain is exploding.” (Poway, California) cell phones, or other mobile devices at school. Bottom-Up Input After hosting dozens of these conversations, I realize one thing: We just don’t listen enough to our students. The tradition in education has been not to ask the students what they think or want, but rather for adult educators to design the system and curriculum by themselves, using their “superior” knowledge and experience. But this approach no longer works. Not that the inmates should run the asylum, but as twenty-⇒rst-century leaders in business, politics, and even the military are ⇒nding out, for any system to work successfully in these times, we must combine top-down directives with bottom-up input. As the students have told me on more than one occasion, “We hope educators take our opinions into account and actually do something!” Until we do, their education will not be the best we can offer. Marc Prensky is a speaker, writer, consultant, and game designer in the critical areas of education and learning. He is the author of Digital Game-Based Learning and Don’t Bother Me, Mom, I’m Learning. “Don’t let this be a onetime thing.” (Poway, California) Source: Project Tomorrow “I think it’s important that you take time to see what we feel.” (West Virginia) “Now you know what we think and how we feel. Hopefully, that will go to the heart.” (Texas) 36 EDUTOPIA JUNE/JULY 2008 http://edutopia.org/tech-tips http://edutopia.org/tech-tips

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Edutopia - June/July 2008

Edutopia - June/July 2008 Contents UpFront Feedback Dispatches Sage Advice Ask Ellen Head of Class Cool Schools Design Young Minds, Fast Times Wii Love Learning No More Pencils, No More Books Tech Without Support All the Right Moves Room to Learn Heart & Soul Pop Quiz: Jeff Corwin

Edutopia - June/July 2008

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