First all the full stop /period is only used to separate units from decimals. To separate very large number into thousands a https://chungchinghecacloai.com/ COMMA(,) is used. So the first numb
Read more
Miscellaneous
+1
Can someone please give me ideas on a good way to humiliate my friend through photoshopping a funny picture?
Asked by Wiki User
Just make it something embarrassing
No, the color of a person’s genitalia does not correlate with their race. Vaginas come in a range of colors, including pink, red, brown, and nhanlambangcap more, but not purpl
Read more
Nelson Mandela
+1
Nelson mandelas statement at rivonia which of the following is true about nelson Mandela?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was a key fig
Read more
Famous Quotations
+2
What are the main themes in long walk to freedom written by nelson Mandela?
Asked by Wiki User
Some main themes in „Long Walk to Freedom“ by Nelson Mandela include perseverance in the face of adversity, the importance of forgiveness and reconcil
Read more
Religion & Spirituality
+2
What was the personal and community cost of Nelson Mandelas freedom fight?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela faced personal sacrifice through 27 years of imprisonment, separation from his family, and enduring hardships as a political prisoner. In the com
Read more
Nelson Mandela
+1
What was the name of Nelson Mandelas speech?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela’s speech is commonly known as „I Am Prepared to Die,“ although it is also referred to as his Rivonia Trial speech. This speech was deli
Read more
Autobiography
+1
Who are Nelson Mandela’s family?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela was married three times and had six children. His first wife was Evelyn Mase, his second wife was Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and his third wife w
Read more
Biography
+1
Give you a short biography of Nelson Mandela?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela was the first black president of South Africa, serving from 1994 to 1999. He was a key figure in the fight against apartheid and spent 27 years i
Read more
Nelson Mandela
+1
What is nelson Mandela’s dream?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela’s dream was to create a South Africa where racial equality and harmony existed, free from the oppression of apartheid. He worked tirelessly towar
Read more
Nelson Mandela
+1
What leadership qualities does Nelson Mandela have – This is for a school project?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson MandelaHe was tolerant. Imagine yourself doomed in prison for 27 years. But most importantly, he had a vision, to end the apartheid policy, not only in S
Read more
Nelson Mandela
+2
What was Nelson Mandela in prison for?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for his involvement in anti-apartheid activities and his opposition to the apartheid regime in South Africa. He was sentenced to l
Read more
History, Politics & Society
+2
What is Nelson Mandela’s Nationality?
Asked by Wiki User
Nelson Mandela is a South African citizen, he was born in South Africa, the southernmost country in Africa.
The objectives of organizational development (OD) are: Enhanced Effectiveness: OD aims to improve the overall performance and effectiveness of an organization b
Read more
Business Plans
What are the strengths and https://chungchinghecacloai.com/ weakness of a change management?
Asked by Wiki User
Change management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state in order to ach
Read more
Taxes and Tax Preparation
+2
What is the difference between tax and taxation?
Asked by Wiki User
Tax has a limited meaning. It is the amount of tax levied/collected etc. by the Government. Taxation is the process of tax collection. It covers all of the foll
Read more
Business Plans
What are the seven steps in the tourism project evaluation and analysis system?
Asked by Wiki User
The seven steps of tourism are as follows:Prefeasibility StudySite AnalysisMarket AnalysisEconomic Feasibility AnalysisCost/Benefit AnalysisGovernment financial
Read more
Business Plans
+2
Why is a marketing plan necessary?
Asked by RolandGM
A marketing plan is essential for several reasons, providing a structured and strategic approach to guide businesses in achieving their marketing objectives. He
Read more
Business Plans
+1
How can you prepare a marketing plan?
Asked by Wiki User
One option would be to use a pre-formatted plan that walks you through the entire process and helps you construct the financial projections that often accompany
Read more
Business Plans
+1
What product or service has made Microsoft successful?
Asked by Wiki User
There are a number of things that made Microsoft successful. Some of them include having varied software with so many features, constant upgrades of their appli
Read more
Business Plans
What are some examples of companies that use the line organization structure?
Asked by Wiki User
Companies that use line and staff organization structure mainly include small businesses. With this structure, they know exactly who to go to for their supervis
Read more
Business Plans
+2
What is an Example of a wholesaler?
Asked by Wiki User
There are a wide range of instances of wholesalers, contingent upon the business and the items they manage. The following are a couple of normal ones: Staple Wh
Read more
Business Plans
+2
Is it wholesaler or wholeseller?
Asked by Wiki User
The right spelling is distributer.
„Wholeseller“ is an incorrect spelling.
A Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) is a formal document describing website procedures. According to the website
Read more
Learning Theories
What is recommended curriculum?
Asked by Wiki User
recommended curriculum – proposed by scholars and https://chungchinghecacloai.com/ professional organizations
A Welding Procedure Specification (WPS) is a formal document describing website procedures. According to the website
Read more
Learning Theories
What is recommended curriculum?
Asked by Wiki User
recommended curriculum – proposed by scholars and https://chungchinghecacloai.com/ professional organizations
In the 21st century, the workplace has seen increasing demand in an intercultural and collaborative environment. With this rapid growth of technological advancements, virtual reality has become the talk of the town and the master of many applications. One of them is incorporating virtual reality into STEM education.
STEM education, combined with virtual reality (VR) technology, can be a powerful tool for developing problem-solving skills in students. It is predicted that immersive VR will reach upto $700 million by 2025. VR allows students to do impossible things in the real environment, especially in the STEM world. This article will explore how STEM education can be implemented using virtual reality and help develop problem-solving skills.
What is STEM Education, and why is it important?
STEM represents an interdisciplinary approach to education that integrates these four disciplines to foster critical thinking and problem-solving, innovation, and creativity. The main objective of STEM education is to prepare students for the rapidly changing world and equip them with the skills needed to thrive in these fields.
Benefits of STEM courses
In STEM education, there are multiple opportunities where virtual reality plays a significant role. Adding VR into the curriculum can help medical students learn about the human body by enabling them to get inside the body and study. In addition, architects will be able to design in an immersive environment, chemistry students can practice lab skills in a safe and controlled environment. Here are some benefits of STEM Curriculum that help students to shape their future.
Real World Relevance
STEM education focuses on applying knowledge and skills to real-world situations.
It bridges the gap between classroom learning and practical application, preparing students for challenges they may encounter professionally.
Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
STEM education nurtures critical thinking skills encouraging students to analyze complex problems, identify patterns, and devise effective solutions.
It promotes a systematic approach to problem-solving, fostering logical reasoning and analytical skills.
Innovation and creativity
STEM education encourages students to think creatively and explore innovative solutions.
It cultivates an environment that values curiosity, experimentation, and out-of-the-box thinking, empowering students to become inventors and entrepreneurs.
Collaboration and Communication
It emphasizes collaborative work and communication skills.
It allows students to engage and participate in group projects, teamwork, learning how to work together, share ideas, etc.
Technological Literacy
STEM Education equips students with essential technological literacy skills.
They can learn to use various tools, software, and technologies and develop a deep understanding of how technology works and its application in various fields.
Career Opportunities
STEM Education offers various career opportunities and prepares students for in-demand professions.
Students can pursue rewarding careers such as engineering, computer science, medicine, research, and more by developing a solid foundation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Global Competitiveness
In today’s globalized world, STEM skills are increasingly in demand.
It enhances students‘ potential and competitiveness on a global scale, enabling them to contribute to the advancement of society, participate in technological innovation, and tackle global challenges.
Personal Growth
STEM education fosters intellectual curiosity, resilience, and a growth mindset.
In addition, it encourages students to embrace challenges, learn from failures, and persist in the obstacles.
It instills confidence and lifelong learning to adapt to an ever-changing world.
STEM Education not only equips students with knowledge and skills in subjects but also cultivates a mindset of inquiry, problem-solving, and innovation that is valuable for society.
How STEM Education uses Virtual Reality to develop problem-solving skills?
Here are some scenarios where VR contributes immensely to developing problem-solving skills.
Simulating real-world scenarios
Virtual reality can recreate real-world scenarios that students might encounter in STEM fields. For example, it can simulate a laboratory experiment, an engineering design challenge, or a mathematical problem. Students can apply their problem-solving skills to solve challenges in a safe and controlled environment.
Enhancing spatial reasoning skills
Many STEM skills require strong reasoning skills, such as understanding 3D structures, visualizing data, analyzing geometric relationships, etc. Virtual reality can provide interactive visualizations and manipulations of objects, enabling students to develop and strengthen their spatial reasoning.
Collaboration and Communication
Virtual reality platforms can facilitate student collaboration and communication by working in a virtual shared space. Students can share their ideas, solve problems collaboratively, and discuss solutions. By doing this, it fosters teamwork, critical thinking, and practical communication skills that are essential for problem-solving.
Experimentation and Exploration
VR technology allows students to experiment and explore STEM concepts in ways that may not be feasible in a traditional classroom setting. They can conduct virtual experiments, explore scientific phenomena, and test hypotheses in a risk-free environment. This freedom to explore encourages curiosity, creativity, and resilience when faced with challenges.
Adaptive Learning and Feedback
Virtual reality platforms can provide personalized and adaptive learning experiences. The system can provide real-time feedback and tailored guidance to individual students by tracking interactions and performance within the virtual environment. This feedback loop promotes iterative problem-solving, self-reflection, and continuous improvement.
Engaging and motivating
Virtual reality provides an immersive experience that can spark students‘ interest and motivation to study. The interactive nature of VR learning creates a sense of presence and excitement, making learning more fun and enjoyable.
Cross-disciplinary applications
VR can integrate multiple STEM disciplines, https://chungchinghecacloai.com/ allowing students to see the interconnections between the subject matter. For example – Physics simulations can incorporate elements of mathematics and engineering. By experiencing these interdisciplinary connections, students can develop a holistic approach to problem-solving and understand the relevance of STEM in real-world situations.
STEM Education in virtual space
It is important to note that while VR technology offers many advantages for developing problem-solving skills, it should complement traditional teaching methods. A well-designed curriculum that combines virtual reality experiences with hands-on activities, discussions, and assessments is essential to maximize the benefits of STEM education using VR. Additionally, educators should consider accessibility, equity, and affordability when implementing VR-based experiences to ensure all students benefit from this technology.
Umety offers stem education that revolutionize the way students learn and develop problem-solving skills. By providing immersive and interactive experiences, VR enables students to engage with STEM concepts in a hands-on and meaningful way, fostering critical thinking, creativity, and innovation.
Ed`u*ca“tion (?; 135), n. [L. educatio; cf. F. ‚education.] The act or process of educating; the result of educating, as determined by the knowledge skill, or discipline of character, acquired; also, the act or process of training by a prescribed or customary course of study or discipline; as, an education for the bar or the pulpit; he has finished his education.
To prepare us for complete living is the function which education has to discharge. H. Spenser.
Syn. — Education, Instruction, Teaching, Training, Breeding. Education, properly a drawing forth, implies not so much the communication of knowledge as the discipline of the intellect, the establishment of the principles, and the regulation of the heart. Instruction is that part of education which furnishes the mind with knowledge. Teaching is the same, being simply more familiar. It is also applied to practice; as, teaching to speak a language; teaching a dog to do tricks. Training is a department of education in which the chief element is exercise or practice for the purpose of imparting facility in any physical or mental operation. Breeding commonly relates to the manners and outward conduct. © Webster 1913.
— Answer– It is now the 21st nhanlambangcap century.. A century is 100 years..
So you can guess it was 200 years ago..
The boy sat in court for three days quietly playing with toys, taking naps or waiting for his McDonald’s lunch to arrive.
In the lofty wood-panelled courtroom usually reserved for adults accused of grave crimes, the 11-year-old faced a hearing on 72 offences.
The boy, given the pseudonym Greg, was charged over a 130km/h police pursuit and late night robberies involving the use of knives and broken wood.
Greg was part of a group that went on a crime spree around Dubbo, western NSW, sometimes filming themselves as they robbed motel rooms and businesses.
His mother told the court she warned Greg he was destined for jail, but he would laugh and say things like, „I don’t care“.
After a stint in detention, Greg told staff: „I’ll be back soon, save my bed for me.“
Children’s magistrate Paul Hayes found Greg not guilty last July, ruling the Crown did not successfully challenge the legal principle known as doli incapax.
The law allows prosecutors to rebut the presumption that children between 10 and 14 do not fully appreciate the difference between moral wrongs and mischief.
Greg’s case has been held up as an example of the legal system failing communities, as Australia’s regional areas grapple with youth crime.
But the criticisms did not mention Greg’s severe disadvantage, his dysfunctional and lawless family life, his fractured education, nor that his father and brother were in jail.
Though his mother’s statement showed one side to Greg, https://chungchinghecacloai.com/ the court also heard she taught right and wrong through violence and described her children as „c—s“ to police.
„Greg is exposed to a range of unlawful conduct,“ Mr Hayes said, in a rare public Children’s Court judgment.
„This may mean such behaviour is normalised and Greg may not appreciate the moral wrongness of the conduct that he either participates in or imitates.“
Research has long established links between children’s offending and disadvantage, with reviews of Australia’s youth justice system recommending diversion over detention.
Experts and humanitarian groups agree that custody should always be the last resort for children.
It is a balance state and territory governments are navigating, amid swirling claims of a crisis and rising pressure from victims‘ groups and community organisations.
Data shows there was a six per cent rise in police proceedings against young people in 2022-23, or an extra 2804 offenders compared to the year before.
It was the first increase in 13 years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
A quarter of the 48,014 young people were dealt with for acts intended to cause injury, the majority were boys and the most common age of offending was 16.
NSW parliament last month passed bail laws that will make it harder for those between 14 and 18 to be released on serious charges like car theft and robbery while out on bail for similar offences.
Victoria is trialling electronic monitoring for teens charged with certain crimes, while Queensland Police have arrested more than 4000 children in a year-long crackdown.
A youth curfew was imposed in Alice Springs last month, when the NT government declared an emergency amid escalating violence.
Garner Clancey, a criminologist at the University of Sydney’s law school, said while data and anecdotes show a concerning spike in youth offending, some of the debate is hyperbolic.
„We spend an awful lot of time gnashing teeth and reviewing … when often we know the core principles of what needs to be done,“ Associate Professor Clancey told AAP.
„We will be buffeted periodically by spikes in youth crime, but that doesn’t mean everything we’ve done before is worthless.
„It means we need to keep doing it and trust that some good old-fashioned casework, good old-fashioned diversion, good old-fashioned policing is part of the picture.“
That work is making headway in the small town of Gawler, South Australia.
Authorities in the picturesque wine-growing region were alarmed by the rate of calls related to young people out at night, reported missing or offending in 2021.
Police established the Blue Rose Project – named for a flower that does not bloom without intervention – to engage young people known to them, mostly through the foster care system.
Senior Constable Gary Wills leads the mission to stop at-risk children going missing or landing in court, building a warm rapport through home visits, phone calls and text messages.
The project aims to stop anti-social behaviour long before it starts by showing vulnerable children they have value.
„They were somebody that was just a text on a page,“ Sen Const Wills told AAP.
„It means they have absolutely no self-worth, so they don’t care.“
With support from Sen Const Wills, young people have completed drug rehab, negotiated their conditions in care and overcome their frustrations and temptations to act out.
Youth-related call-outs went down from more than 300 to 98 in the project’s first year.
As a police officer with more than 30 years‘ experience, Sen Const Wills tells children they must be accountable for their actions.
„Just because you’re a young person, it doesn’t give you a get-out-of-jail-free card,“ he said.
„But Blue Rose is coming in to try and stop you behaving that way, make you think differently, understand how it might feel to be a victim of crime.“
In a vast stretch of western NSW between Bathurst and Broken Hill, there is only one youth refuge for children who are not safe at home.
This dearth of support services in the regions should be part of the conversation about youth crime, Mission Australia’s central and far west area manager Megan Boshell said.
„Not to minimise those crimes or the impact on victims, but let’s also look at the accessibility to accommodation, healthcare, consistent counselling, school and ongoing diversionary programs,“ she said.
Ms Boshell said bail breaches were common among youth offenders, though they’re often due to children fleeing violence and dysfunction.
„They didn’t just wake up one day and decide that was what they were going to get up to,“ she said.
„There’s there’s been a whole life lived to get to that point.“
The charity helps young people by giving them direction and purpose through sport, training or work of their choosing.
„They’re not always accustomed to someone asking them, ‚what do you want life to look like?'“
For Senior Constable Wills, it all comes back to a small note he keeps in his diary: „None of them asked for this.“
What follows if my final paper for a class called Teaching & Learning that I took during the 2009 winter semester at Bennington College.
Learning about learning has so far been a mind-opening experience. I am studying to become a social sciences teacher, though education is really a social science in itself. Actually, it has such mathematic complexity, scientific precision, and generally eclectic methods that has thus far been an entirely unique major.
Foremost, learning about learning is a personal venture. How did I learn to speak, but fail at learning any second language? Why do I still hesitate at taking a strictly science or math course? Why do I think that I can’t do anything, despite relative academic success?
How do I use the answers to these questions to the advantage of my students?
Node your Homework
On Relevance in Education
What the student learns must be relevant to him. He should be encouraged to make connections between what is learned in the classroom and the experiences of his daily activities. This real-world context allows for the student to reflect upon the application of what he learns in the classroom. Carol Rodgers describes this reflection as a meaning-making process that moves the learner from one experience into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. (845 Rodgers)
One role of the teacher is to rouse this sort of reflection when it is appropriately related to the class material. When the student integrates his own interests and musings into class projects and discussions, the teachers should take his ideas seriously and motivate him to build upon them.
I will give several examples of this. First, the student should be able to make connections between his personal interests and musings: if he likes graphic novels or songwriting, his English course might allow him to study those forms of narrative. If he is interested in sports, then his anatomy course should allow him to explore the basic concepts of sports nutrition. Should he be interested in computer programming, than his math course should let him incorporate introductory logic or number theory.
These are all examples of how a student’s pastimes and hobbies could be integrated into different subjects in a constructive manner. They demonstrate what Thomas Zane calls ‘domain definition‘, by „defining real-world, integrated tasks as opposed to listing a series of content topics or decontextualized knowledge components“ (83 Zane, Part 1). The ‘domains‘ essential to student-relevant education are those that the student thinks are important to him.
Unfortunately, it would be impossible to structure a curriculum that is specialised to each student’s personal ‘domain‘. If a teacher attempted to create such a course, she would be quickly overwhelmed. Instead of rigidly incorporating them, the class should feature discussions and assignments flexible enough to allow the integration of different domains of student interest.
This kind of education benefits the student in at least two ways. First, he is able to reflect upon course material using personal experience. He is more likely to be interested in what is being taught, because the material is more relevant to him. Secondly, he is able to supplement his extracurricular interests with the knowledge that he learns in class. By making connections between what he learns in the classroom and outside of it, he has the opportunity not only to build upon his understanding of class material, but also of his own recreations and passions. This should be one of the primary purposes of teaching and learning: to build upon the students‘ existing experience and curiosity to provide a practically grounded and relevant education.
Transferability of Knowledge
Just as a curriculum that is narrow and decontextualised is impractical, one that exclusively involves the students‘ hobbies and pastimes is also limiting. What is learned in school should not be constrained in application; it should be ensured that whatever the student is learning, that he is able to apply it to multiple domains.
For instance: when I attended public middle school, my course on U.S. history was taught in a „drill-and-kill“ manner. It was the sort of course that involved memorising predetermined lists of names and dates, and then regurgitating them for quizzes. This teaching method had two main problems: firstly, there was no attempt to make it relevant to the current state of America; history was as separate from reality as any fiction. Just as bad, the names and dates we learned were of no obvious use outside of the classroom. The students had little ability to use the information to study other aspects of American history; they were exclusive to the lesson at hand.
History should not be taught as a series of isolated, decontextualised events. This is what Paulo Freire calls „banking“, which allows the students only to memorise and sort information so that it can be reproduced upon demand (Freire 58). There is no emphasis placed on the ability to transfer knowledge from one application to another, which can help the student to „create new knowledge and arrive at further understandings“ (40 Wiggins). In the context of U.S. History, transferability might mean the ability to relate past events to current politics or to American literature.
The importance of transferability extends outside the realm of social sciences. In English, a student might learn the functions of different parts of speech; but he will not be able to improve his sentence structure with this knowledge unless he can use it appropriately. Analogously, a student of mathematics may be able to solve simple algebraic problems with fractions, but that does not guarantee his ability to execute more complex operations with dimensional analysis.
Transferability of knowledge is essential to relevant education. Without it, the student is not able to take what he learns in the classroom and apply it to his extracurricular interests; or vise versa. However, it is a more difficult task to ensure that the student is focused and motivated enough to take interest in transferring his understanding to begin with.
Teacher and Student Responsibilities
By upholding personal relevance and transferability as core tenants of education, a large degree of responsibility is placed upon the student’s ability and eagerness to learn. The tenants assume that the student is mature enough to take his education seriously and to challenge himself. The ideal student is self-motivated in fulfilling his own curiosity. He is developed enough in his thought to appropriately make connections between class content and personal interest. In essence, a relevance-centered education requires that the he is self-aware enough to realise his ability, talent, and limits; and to know when to ask the teacher for assistance.
Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to expect a student to have all of these skills when they first enter the classroom; the ability to learn is developed over time. Because of this, the teacher must not only teach the class material, but also help the student to grasp it. In Freedom To Learn, psychologist Carl Rogers describes the aim of education as the facilitation of learning (120-121 Rogers). In order to facilitate learning, the teacher has two core responsibilities: to evoke and guide the students‘ desire to learn, https://chungchinghecacloai.com/ and to provide guidance and resources to help them do so.
In order to motivate the students, the teacher must demonstrate the appeal of the class content to them. She may accomplish this by showing them how the material is relevant to the students‘ domains of interest. The teacher should attempt to appeal to as many of the students‘ domains as possible, and not favour one any over another (unless there is a general class consensus, or it is otherwise appropriate). One method of doing this would be group interaction: and exercise might be to allow the students to bandy ideas and concepts in guided class discussion. She may also assign creative projects and see what work the students produce. Through these activities, the teacher may assess the students‘ domains of interest.
The teacher must not only recognise these domains, but also try to understand how the students are attempting to solve them. This does not require that the teacher make lengthily records and descriptions of student behaviour for reference; rather, she should keep a mental tab of their emotional and intellectual abilities. With this in mind, she is better able to understand her students without overburdening herself with work. Nel Nodding describes how she attempts to engross herself completely in the student’s mindset when helping them:
If I care about students who are attempting to solve a problem, I must do two things: I must make the problem my own, receive it intellectually, immerse myself in it; I must also bring the students into proximity, receive such students personally. (659 Goldstein)
By caring for her students‘ learning styles and domains of interest, the teacher can help nurture their desire to learn.
Methods of Teaching
The teacher’s other core responsibility—to provide guidance and resources for students when they need them—includes ensuring that they have mastered fundamental concepts necessary for progressing toward more complex ideas. Automaticity, the ability to effortlessly recall material gained from practise, „frees space in the student’s working memory, which can be used for application and higher-level thinking“ (64 Rosenshine). This automaticity is lauded in Direct Instruction as „perfect practise“, which stresses the necessary „accuracy, fluency, endurance, momentum, retention, and maintenance“ (21 Kuzioff) of the fundamental concepts in a given subject. Automaticity is in itself a resource that is present in the student, and as a resource, the teacher should encourage its cultivation.
In my experience as a student, acquiring automaticity is difficult due to the concentration and practise required to develop it. This is especially problematic when the set of skills or knowledge being learned is decontextualised. For this reason, it is important for the teacher to make the students aware of the application of what is being learned, its necessity in furthering the class, and its relationship to other concepts. For example, memorising the organelles of animal and plant cells in biology often seems a rote and meticulous task. The teacher should explain to the students some of the benefits of having such knowledge, and how it relates to larger operations such as cellular respiration, homeostasis, or photosynthesis. Keeping these in mind, and the material relevant and applicable, they should be related back to when automatising knowledge of the organelles.
These lower-level concepts should serve as Vygotskian tools for understanding larger ones. Once they have been internalised by the student, critical comprehension and application may be instigated. It is at this point that the teacher must pay special attention to the students‘ individual learning abilities and interests, so that she may begin to cater to them. Her expectations and input should be gauged upon her knowledge of the students, so that she can provide appropriate assignments and feedback. In Relational Zone, Lisa Goldstein concisely articulates this:
„Each child brings a particular set of skills and interests to bear on any given problem. The adult has particular responsibility for segmenting the tasks into subgoals manageable for that specific child and for altering the child’s definition of the task to make it increasingly compatible with expert performance.“ (661 Goldstein)
In order to provide appropriate feedback to students, teachers must fulfill another role: to either have expert knowledge of the subject of study, or the readiness and eagerness to develop existing knowledge of the subject in a classroom setting. A teacher who does not know her material, or does not care about it, cannot help students engage themselves in the material; nor can she break the information down into less complex parts. In Lee Sculman’s theoretical framework of Pedagogical Content Knowledge, teaching „includes presenting the material by using figurative language and metaphors“ (Teacher’s) and thereby representing it in ways more accessible to students. Furthermore, this representation of material should be in accordance with popular domains of interest to the class, when it is possible to transform the content in such a way without distorting it.
Of course, the way a subject is taught is dependent on the subject itself. Obviously, mathematics cannot be taught in entirely the same way as anthropology. The teacher must know their subject well enough to realise the differences between content taught, so that they can best adapt their teaching methods.
Content Studied
Most subjects studied in school should have a wide range of application and allow students to interact with their world as informed people. Studies of special or limited appeal—such as classes in music, psychology, or programming—should also be made available, based upon student and teacher interest.
The former category of content studied, classes that are less specialised, includes topics ubiquitous in our society. They should be taught with an emphasis on the aformentioned virtues of broad application and relevance to the students. Mathematics, especially pre-calculus levels that are used in everyday experiences (and are the fundaments upon which higher-level mathematics are based), is an essential subject of study. English, with an emphasis on literacy and critical comprehension, similarly allows students to apply build understanding on their own. Science courses such as biology, chemistry, and physics, provide general information that students can use to study more complex topics about how the world works.
Special interest subjects which appeal to more limited student appeal and application are beneficial for at least two reasons. Firstly, they demonstrate the usefulness of more common subjects. Game theory, logic, and programming can all represent commonly used mathematics in practice; poetry, style, and culture-specific literature classes may utilise knowledge and skills taught in general English courses; economics, ecology, psychology, and art history combine disciplines. Secondly, they can demonstrate new applications of broader students, which students may not be aware of.
Humanities represent a unique category of study, because they are often attached to social values and interests. These connotations make them subject more open to interpretation. For this reason, I believe that they are central to the student’s fluency in society-wide affairs. The students‘ domain of interest has the potential to extent to social impact in the humanities, and it should be taught with emphasis on moderated class dialogue.
Cultivating Social Readiness
An important role of education is to cultivate social readiness. This can, like the purpose of education, be defined in many different ways. Many philosophical thinkers have pronounced education as essential to a just and democratic society. John Dewey believed that „only by the being true to the full growth of all of the individuals who make it up, can society by any chance be true to itself“ (7 Dewey Decimal SystemDewey). Paulo Freire’s thoughts follow a similar vein, but in the context of uneducated lower classes. He wrote „problem-posing education is revolutionary futurity“ (72 Freire), as critical comprehension of society’s workings is necessary to change it.
Others, who uphold a more traditional understanding of „socialisation,“ feel that traditional school subjects should be „the means by which the culture of the race would be transmitted to the vast majority of Americans“ (15 Kliebard). Groups representing social interests often push to see them represented in school curriculum—proponents of Intelligent Design are one example of such groups. Another example of teaching beliefs in the classroom would be selective history often exhibited in U.S. History textbooks, such as the omission of discussion of controversial conditions survived by African-Americans and Native Americans. It is debatable how appropriate it is to teach beliefs and morals this way in school.
Decisions made about what content is appropriate should be made with ideologies of the school community in mind. Decisions concerning social and moral education should be chosen by the school so that they represent its students as fairly as possible. For instance, if the majority of the student base consists of Native Americans, teaching the history of indigenous Americas and influence of colonisation would be more suitable than teaching only about the story of the Europeans. Similarly, teaching only Intelligent Design to students in a mixed-religion community would not be appropriate. Such decisions over what to teach should be made based upon the preferences of both the community (students, parents) and the school’s faculty and administration. Subjects should be chosen to coincide with the ideology of the community, without limiting the applicability and relevance of subjects taught.
Schools should provide an environment that allows students to fit into their immediate society and encourages their participation within it. The former requirement would require teachers to dedicate time to developing students‘ abilities to interact with one another: ideally, students should work together in manner that is both amiable and academically rewarding. With careful preparation, this can be accomplished creatively in the classroom, by using structured collaborative projects, moderated debates, as well as discussion groups that encourage critical analysis of material. Outside of the classroom, extracurricular activities of student interest should allow further socialisation between students.
To help students grow into participating members of their societies, their education should inform students about the kind of world in which they live. Some basic example of this would be: developing a critical understanding of how laws are passed (both in theory and practise), an understanding of different cultures which are prominent in the students‘ lives, and the sceptical analysis of the students‘ own values. All of these should be executed with immense respect for the students‘ personal beliefs, but should nonetheless be thought-provoking exercises.
This method of teaching humanities, which combines social readiness, is one that cannot easily be graded on a linear scale. It cannot value any one student’s beliefs over another, nor should any other subject. Assessment in education must be of help the student, not judge them.
Role of Assessment
The student’s grade should not necessarily reflect how many answers he got wrong or right on his tests or how his projects compared to the rest of his class; instead, they should be a measurement of the progress he has made over the course of his education. This means that the teacher must initially assess the student’s typical work output at the beginning of classes, to use as a reference point for progress made during the course. Additionally, each time a new subject is begun in class, the teacher should try to obtain some idea of the students‘ initial abilities at comprehending it, what Popham refers to as pretest data (14 Popham).
Take for example a high school level English classroom. The first few tests given in reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary should be paid particular attention to. If the student has trouble with reading comprehension, or using and appropriate, ‘academic‘ style in papers, the teacher should make a mental note of this (or brief notes on paper, if her class is particularly large or her student’s handicaps specific).
When grading, it is useful to divide the assignments into two categories: first, those which are free-form and open ended, such as creative projects, papers, and presentations; and second, those which test for automaticity of core skills and knowledge such as spelling and vocabulary words, appropriate grammar use, and where or not the student has done reading assignments. The former category should be graded based subjectively upon the student’s progress and ability; the latter should be graded in a standard manner, with ‘wrong‘ and ‘right‘ answers. Grades should focus on helping the student realise what his proficiencies are, and what things he may study in order to improve his work.
Postscript
While organising my thoughts on education and attempting to compile a personal philosophy out of them, I have realised a few things. Most importantly, I now recognise that a philosophy education cannot be rigidly structured. It must incorporate the ideas of many different thinkers; and it cannot be exclusively bound to neither traditional nor progressive ideas. The method of teaching which is practised should always be appropriate based on many different variables, such as what is content is being taught, the classroom atmosphere, and of course, the students‘ personalities and learning styles.
Unfortunately, the teacher can only do so much to cater to her students individually. Students must eventually learn to be self-reliant, treating the teacher as a resource. For this to happen, it is important that a general atmosphere that encourages enthusiasm of the subject matter be maintained, one that is conducive to learning. Once this is done, the teacher can appropriately work her students‘ interests and ideas, and help them develop both in school and independently of it. It is critical that the students see the importance of learning both inside and outside of the classroom.
Works Cited
Dewey, John. The School and Society & The Child and the Curriculum. BN, 2008. Print.
Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum, 1986. Print.
Goldstein, Lisa S. „The Relational Zone: The Role of Caring Relationships in the Co-Construction of Mind.“ American Educational Research
Journal 36.3 (1999): 647-73. Print.
James., Popham, W. Test Better, Teach Better The Instructional Role of Assessment. Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum
Deve, 2003. Print.
Kliebard, Herbert M. Struggle of the American Curriculum 1893-1958. 2nd ed. Routledge, 1995. Print.
Kuzioff, Martin. „Direct Instruction: Its Contributions to High School Achievement.“ High School Journal 84 (2001): 54. Print.
Kuzioff, Martin, Louis LaNunziata, James Cowardin, and Frances Bessellieu. „Direct Instruction: Its Contributions to High School
Achievement.“ High School Journal 84 (2001): 54. Print.
R., Rogers, Carl. Freedom to Learn: a view of what education might become. Columbus, Ohio: C. E. Merrill Pub. Co., 1969. Print.
Rodgers, Carol. „Defining Reflection: Another Look at John Dewey and Reflective Thinking.“ Teachers College Record 104.4 (2002): 842-66. Print.
Rosenshine, Barak V. „Synthesis of Research on Explicit Teaching.“ Educational Leadership April (1986): 60-69. Print.
„Teacher’s In-Depth Content Knowledge.“ InTime. 2001. Web. 6 Dec. 2009.
Wiggins, Grant, and Jay McTighe. Understanding By Design. 2nd ed. ASCD, 2005. Print.
Zane, Thomas W. „Performance Assessment Design Principles Gleaned from Constructivist Learning Theory.“ TechTrends 53.1 (2009): 81-88. Print.
