All students do have the capacity to learn. I believe there are a lot of factors that determine what and how much we learn but all have the capacity. There are so many different learning styles that a student who doesn't have the opportunity to learn "their way" may not learn as much or as quickly. Say for instance, as student is a hands-on, kinesthetic learner but the teacher is primarily a verbal instructor. That student will most likely not learn as much that year. That's where teachers really do influence how much a student learns and the importance of differentiating instruction. I need to take into account the different types of learners as I am planning instruction. I guess that's why I connected with the beginning of chapter three when it said that we are not only teachers but facilitators, providing opportunities for students to learn. We really can't make them learn. We have to provide the motivation and the opportunities. Sure, I'm a teacher when I directly instruct a new concept but after that, my job is to provide what the student needs to comprehend and apply the knowledge. This isn't easy and differentiating instruction is relatively new to me and my school so I have a long way to go. I'm the only second grade teacher at my school and am self contained with no assistance. Luckily, I've got parents who are happy to help out. I don't often differentiate content unless it is enrichment but I provide lots of choices for how students apply and present their learning for me to assess.
As far as the Socializing Intelligence paper, I honestly didn't get a lot out of it so I'm eager to read other posts about it. I find it difficult to determine how we acquire intelligence when we don't even really know how to define it. Some might think that knowing a lot about other cultures and being able to speak multiple languages is intelligent. Others believe being able to spout off (sometimes useless) information is intelligence but sometimes those people don't have enough common sense to boil water. Some believe that wise people are the mark of intelligence and others say it has to do with an IQ score even if the person is a deadbeat. I consider my parents very wise yet neither went to college. My father is a computer genius and excelled his field of computer banking despite failing geometry in high school. I'm not saying that researchers shouldn't continue to try to determine what is intelligence and how one acquires it but it does seem as if we are trying to look for something in the dark.
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I like when you said " how do we acquire intelligence when we don't even really know how to define it?" I think that is the principle question- what does intelligence look like--is it something that one can learn in school or as you said your parents are intelligent but did not go to college? Is it something that a teacher can facilitate or is it predetermined? How do we approach students and learning when we think they are "intelligent" or not? These are important questions that we need to think about when we design our instruciton.
ReplyDeleteI like you comment about how as teachers we have to provide the motivation and the opportunity for students to learn. This is so important. Motivating students is a hard job in itself. To find out what makes each student tick and work is something i struggle with with a few students in my class.
ReplyDeleteIn response to this comment..."There are so many different learning styles that a student who doesn't have the opportunity to learn "their way" may not learn as much or as quickly. Say for instance, as student is a hands-on, kinesthetic learner but the teacher is primarily a verbal instructor."
ReplyDeleteI said something similiar in my blog this week and (obviously) agree with what you are saying here. At my school, I feel like the primary teachers (especially K and 1) encoorportate many learning styles. It seems as the students get older though, teachers are forced to rely on textbooks more and focus a lot on the auditory learners. When planning my lessons, I actually evaluate if I touched on every type of learning styles b/c my students benefit from it all. Repeated instruction with various presentations has worked well for me in the past!
I really liked when you said "We really can't make them learn. We have to provide the motivation and the opportunities."
ReplyDeleteThat is something that I think about every day. I can't MAKE these students learn. Especially when they are yelling and letting me know they don't WANT to. However if I provide the opportunities and motivation that is right for them, they are willing to learn and to try as hard as they can. I think that is key to teaching! Nice job!