Alex Reid has a pretty provocative post at his Digital Digs blog that looks more deeply at some of the reasons this all is such a struggle. Here’s one section that jumped out to me:
In other words, they [his students] continue to view their profession as one that will be founded on a discrete, unchanging body of information that they will acquire before graduating. We might all deride the notion of the teacher/professor reciting the same lectures and lessons plans year after year, but somehow this does not alter this belief that a degree will certify us once and for all as authorities. Sure, all these teacher-students recognize that they will gain experience as teachers, learn helpful tips along the way, and become better practitioners. But this development of practice is separated from the acquisition of authoritative knowledge.
And this faith exists in both K-12 and college faculty.
The threat of the network is the dissolution of this authority. The ongoing development of media and networks requires us to keep moving. It doesn’t mean that what we’ve learned has no value; it means that it cannot establish us as authorities. We cannot imagine the classroom as resting upon a core body of knowledge. We are engaged in a technocultural shift that shakes the very foundations of epistemology: what began as a philosophical critique in theory now becomes a material condition.
I think that does speak to something that I’d been feeling below the surface but hadn’t really seen clearly. We are asking teachers in large measure to abdicate their authority in the classroom, at least in the content sense. And what then remains to be authoritative about?
The learning.
Yesterday at Seton Hall, Alan showed a Marco Torres video of preservice teachers talking about their expectations, and one alluded to the idea of teaching being a flexible role between teaching and learning. That we should look at ourselves at varying times as teachers and as learners, and that students can play both of those roles as well. I think we have to approach our roles in the classroom with a “We’re all in this together” attitude, and not “I’m the expert; get ready to learn” one. But that has little to do with technology and has everything to do with re-envisioning what this is all about.
technorati tags:teaching, learning, education, Alex_Reid, weblogg-ed
No, I think it has everything to do with the technology. The network is folk centered. By its nature it puts the learner at the center of a network of resources. These words fail to convey the ecology of this. It is similar to the experience I often have on my morning walks here on my farm in Kentucky. In the dewy morning grass I see what I cannot even imagine later in the day when the dew burns off–thousands of spider webs. The spiders imply prey which imply various biological systems of considerable complexity. I cannot help but feel an analogy between this and all of these learning technologies we are asking others to adopt and adapt to. When I go to Emily Chang’s eHub or delicious/popular or any of the thousands of spiders living in this virtual matrix, I feel the same way as when I view the natural web. Much of what disconcerts me is the sense that I don’t have a grasp on this moment, that I am being pulled in opposing directions between riptide and shore.
Perhaps the ‘pain’ Will and all of us over the last few posts feel is the inexorable and wild passion one gets body surfing as the wave tumbles you over and drives you into the sand and salt. You come up choking and spitting, stunned and amazed at the inexorabitlity of it all. Most of the time I ma just happy to be along for the ride and anxious to go back out for the next wave.
I have been thinking about this quite a bit if you want to see how this plays out in a college classroom for at-risk students. http://tex2all.com/?p=32
I think that you are hitting the nail on the head. As a music technology advocate I am constantly butting heads with people who feel threatened by the fact that music software empowers anyone to make music and can empower any teacher to facilitate student learning of music. There are even those in the industry who resist the software I use with students because of its intuitive interface, they deride it even though it can do just as good a job as the elitist (expensive and difficult to learn) software they use.
It is understandable . . . there has been a long standing perception that technology is a threat to individual’s livlihood.
We hear a lot of talk about technology having the potential to completely transform education. That comes from educators as well as politicians.
I get to visit a lot of classrooms in which teachers are supposed to be making great use of technology. However, what I see is the same old structure, the traditional processes, with technology grafted on the side as an afterthought.
Will’s right that we need to rethink the role of “teacher” and “learner” and realize that the two are no longer distinct from each other (if they ever really were). Getting our colleagues to acknowledge that and make the necessary changes has nothing to do with technology. And will be much harder than learning any software.
Will,
I’m currently teaching a group of students in an assistive technology course at Simmons College and am thrilled to see the level of self-motivation and willingness to take themselves to the next level. They are viewing their students in new ways and continuing the conversation about how, as one student (a veteran teacher of over 20 years) put it, “we are no longer the keepers of knowledge.”
Many of the students in the class are experienced educators and the conversations are challenging but exciting. They want to be at the forefront of change and inspire me!
Not all is hopeless…
Kjanowski is on target when he cites someone as saying, “we are no longer the keepers of knowledge.” And to different degrees the internet allows some blending of the roles of teacher and learner. Still, one thought and one question. As a teacher of university composition for 14+ years, are we really believing that a freshman by being immersed in Internet networks will understand writing concepts and be able to apply them in different environments as well as I do? Although I expect to learn from my students, still, I would say such a belief is groundless. So, let’s get past the enthusiasm and on to specifics with respect to Will’s final questions: In what ways are “teachers in large measure to abdicate their authority in the classroom, at least in the content sense. And what then remains to be authoritative about?”
I’m going to be an English teacher next year…hopefully. I cannot say that I will not be in an authoratitative position; if I were not, wouldn’t this be a classic example of the blind leading the blind? I do not mean here that I will cram interpretations of classic literature down students’ throats. But I will be needed in order to help students to better express their thoughts, and my knowledge of the English language will help me to do this. But I agree that the classroom needs to be fundamentally changed. As a teacher, I will also be a learner. Traditional forms of literacy, while not obsolete, are fast becoming less important in the world below the ivory tower. I look forward to the moments when I know that my students will teach me about new ways of expression via technology or the written word. I’ve never been comfortable with the role of the authority figure, or as others have aptly phrased it, as a “keeper of knowledge.” I’d like to reconsider myself as a “sharer of knowledge.”
Until we stop training (and certifying) teachers to be “Chemistry Teachers”, “Math Teachers”, or “English Teachers†instead of “Learning Coordinators” we will continue the thinking that the person who carries around the biggest bag of content should sit center stage (isn’t this the stuff that “Learning Standards” are made of?) That is not to say a one cannot be passionate and well versed in a content discipline…but first and foremost should be modeling and fostering the learning.