EDLD+5364+Week+4+Reflection

Week 4 of Teaching with Technology brought together many trains of thought regarding student led learning and the idea that today’s classroom, by virtue of current technology and the evolving student population, should look vastly different than the classroom of twenty years ago, yet in many instances, it does not. Linda Darling-Hammond suggests that team teaching should be utilized, and teachers should be encouraged to have the same students year after year, and not merely for 50 minute time spans, but for a block of time. My school district did embrace block scheduling two years ago, but with the current budget crisis, has reverted to seven classes per day, which in turn reduced the number of teachers required. I cannot visualize, since I teach an elective, how I would be able to teach the same set of students for more than one year, unless the student chooses, and has room in his or her schedule, to sign up for an additional technology credit. Darling Hammond also suggested having the students plan their course of study, field trips, and presentations. My question with this logic is, if the student decides the curriculum how will the necessary TEKS be covered in order to prepare for annual testing?  Seymour Papert suggests getting rid of curriculum altogether, because on no one certain day should a student be expected to learn any one particular fact. His thought is that this process be replaced with “You learn this when you need it.” Theoretically, this sounds admirable. But there was no mention of how to apply this concept to real world teaching. All students in the video seemed engaged, but they also seemed to be higher level students.  There were more scenarios I would have addressed here, but am forced to keep my reflection brief due to class rubric, but I cannot end without mentioning Larry Rosenstock, who suggested that, although well meaning, a school district must learn to integrate students beyond socioeconomic barriers. Labeling a student as “non-college bound” in eighth grade only succeeds in creating a non-college bound student. Yet, knowing in reality that student might need skills when he graduates high school to enable him to enter a work force and be gainfully employed sells that student short of his potential. This is the classic situation of a self-fulfilling prophecy. I am happy for Rosenstock’s school district’s college graduation rate, but am reticent to apply his philosophy to my high school. Absent monumental scholarships, there are, truly, those students who, although capable, will not be able to fund their post secondary scholastic aspirations.   // The Collaborative Classroom: An Interview with Linda Darling-Hammond. // Filmed at the CASEL forum in New York City. Retrieved on March 18, 2011 from []  Edutopia.org(nd). // Project Learning: An Overview. //Retrieved on March 17, 2011 from [] Edutopia.org(nd). // High Tech High Taking the Lead: An Interview with Larry Rosenstock. // Retrieved on March 16, 2011 from []