Hannah, I tried sending you an email, but it returned it to me saying it was an invalid email, so I'll just put it on the blog. If you don't mind answering the questions.
Other people are welcome to comment as well. You can only do one question if you want, or all of them...whatever floats your boat.
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1. Do you learn better when you learn your own way, or when the teacher gives you the information and you memorize it?
2. Do you like free learning environments? (obviously) Why / why not?
3. Would you rather the teacher let you take your own initiative with learning and just back off, or keep you under their wing. What's wrong with the teacher taking you under her/his wing so to speak?
4. Have you begun to question teacher's more often then when you were younger?
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7 comments:
Sorry, that divider thing was not supposed to be that long...but oh well!
Well, I'm not Hannahl, but I would like to answer.
1)I learn in a combination of both those ways. I need some guidance from the teacher about what I should be trying to learn, but it is easier for me to actually learn it when I do it my own way.
2)I do like free learning environments. They allow me to learn in my own way while still requiring structure.
3)I would like a teacher to encourage me to take my own intiative, and plant the seed, so to speak, but giving me freedom to learn in my own way is something I need to be successful. I wouldn't want the teacher to completely back off either, because I still need some pressure from them. I need to have expectations to meet, but no limits on how I get there.
4)I have definitly started to question teachers more than when I was young. I was always a little defiant, but I never questioned what I was learning. Now I question things so much it make my head spin; but I am actually learning more this way.
Anybody who would like to answer even one of the questions is welcome to answer! Please do in fact.
About questioning: I definitely question everything a lot more then when I was younger, and this includes teachers. Younger kids tend to just sit there and accept everything anyone tells them; they're very malleable. But as people get older, they start to learn more, and this new intelligence leads to questioning. So I would definitely say yes to this.
1. What do you think? Haha. I have especially noticed that I learn better in my own way than memorizing this year, which has been filled with the "memorization and regurgitation" approach to learning in several of my classes. I have been more and more annoyed by this teaching style because I now know how much more we could be doing and how the subject could leap out and engage me instead of boring me.
2. I do, but only to a certain extent. There is that whole argument for kids to be "home-schooled" in a way in which they are supposed to search for their own learning, meaning that they let them play and never actually teach them, just see if they feel like learning something someday. I'm not sure what the method is called, but I find it quite absurd, at least for kids older than 10 or so. I think there must be a pursuit of knowledge within the student, but never a completely unruled education system like the one mentioned above. Right now, school is too segmented, it must search for a balance.
3. I think this has to be balanced as well. I feel much better about my learning if I am pursuing it and taking my own initiative but still having a mentor to guide me who I can communicate with and ask questions of. Ms. Smith is a great example, because I seek her help, but she doesn't hold my hand. She will gladly go over my paper with me (which I do quite a lot) but that is my initiative, not her prodding. I have to say that it is so amazing to have someone guiding you in education, and someone to be a sounding board and keep you on track. However, they should never limit what you learn and they should let you go above and beyond if you so please.
4. I have certainly begun to question teachers more often, but I still did it as a child. Infortunately, when I was younger, most of my questioning came from the mouth of my Mother, who I admire and therefore tried to emulate. Eventually, her opinions started to be pushed out by opinions that were similar by more personalized to me. Therefore, I have grasped her ability to question everything but to know why and how I am doing it. I will stand up against something I do not believe in, especially in education, and even if it is a teacher who is being opinionated, I will counter them and question them, because I believe it is mutually beneficial. It is definately beneficial for me to question what is taught to me, but it is also important for an educator to question how they are doing their job so that they can constantly grow. I never let ideas be spoon fed to me, and open discussions and questioning in class is a perfect way to avoid this.
So, there is hannahl's response, hope it was worth while!
Thank you for posing these questions and posting your responses.
1. A balance of both is really needed in order to maintain an individual level of academic challenge.
2. Again, balance seems to be key here. Too much freedom and the academic focus may be lost, but not enough freedom inhibits the innate curiousity of the learner.
3. Teachers might say that they only have one pair of wings, but certain forms of technology seem to be extending the wingspan of those teachers (so to speak).
4. I would hope that students of any age feel supported in their search for answers and to refine the information that they learn. If not, I would hope that they can find a role model that fulfills that need.
Thank you to everyone who responded! It really helped!
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