This week's readings were particularly interesting because they challenged me to think outside of my educational background. I found the chapter about Military Education the most interesting because my younger brother served three years in the Army. He has been out of the service for about eight months. Watching his transition from soldier to civilian has been wonderful. The opportunities he has been presented with are unbelievable. Going to the Military was a lifelong goal for him but consequently, he was not a fan of school. Traditional learning was not his strength, he is successful when working with his hands. Therefore, reading that Educational Design is particularly difficult in this sector because a majority of the clients are not familiar with educational principles because their knowledge is based on their personal experience as a student, was a lightbulb moment. My brother was a real life example of that fact. The United States Military's impact is unbelievable and is something that affects everyone's life. Designing training and education for soldiers that could be used in a time of war creates a high-risk environment. Also, there are so many different learning environments designers must prepare for.
Military Education and Health Education have many similarities because they directly affect the greater good for all citizens. Health Education has the potential to train the doctor or researcher that will cure cancer or alzheimers. Thinking about the potential magnitude of change both Military and Health Education have it is imperative that both Military and Healthy Designers are efficient and innovative.
In the private sectors, Businesses use instructional design to perfect their business practices. Unlike Military and Health Education businesses want to work better, faster, and cheaper. Businesses want to address a performance gap, not necessarily think long term.
To prepare our youth for unprecedented challenges we must teach them to be problem solvers. Typing my solution out seems like the obvious answer but it is more complex than it seems. Teaching our youth to think creatively or out of the box is very challenging because it goes against the traditional learning their parents received. I have taught for four years. My first year to teach, McKinney ISD adopted the new Math TEKS early. As a first year teacher, I wasn't prepared for the negative backlash parents would have because the new TEKS required students to solve math problems using various strategies. Many of the complaints from parents included, "Well I didn't learn math this way and I turned out fine." I am not a parent but to expect your children to learn in the same way you did when cell phones were as heavy as a brick and Blockbuster was where you rented movies is naive. Our children are digital natives, they use iPads or Netflix from a young age. They don't read directions, they figure it stuff out by pushing buttons or watching a YouTube Video. Teachers will never be more entertaining than YouTube. So a teacher or administrator you must realize your competition for children's attention. Educators also need to incorporate open-ended activities allow for creativity. MakerSpace and Genius Hour are to programs that allow students embrace their creativity and allow them to learn based on their interests. The first time I took my Kindergarteners to our Makerspace, I was amazed at the creative ways they were able to turn pipe cleaners into police badges. Our schools need to embrace the future to prepare our youth. Our educational system allows for so much diversity, which is a double-edged sword. Some schools have everything including motivated teachers and other schools lack resources but have the motivated teachers. The United States has made efforts to require schools to create engaging lessons through No Child Left Behind. As a teacher, I didn't realize No Child Left Behind addressed anything other than standardized testing. I find it fascinating that Korea had included government policy supporting instructional design.
“Our children are digital natives; they use iPads or Netflix from a young age. They don't read directions, they figure it stuff out by pushing buttons or watching a YouTube Video. Teachers will never be more entertaining than YouTube. So a teacher or administrator you must realize your competition for children's attention. Educators also need to incorporate open-ended activities allow for creativity.”
ReplyDelete“Digital Natives,” what an interesting way to describe today’s young learners, very creative and wholly accurate! As an example of your premise I’m going to use an example taken from my wife’s classroom. My wife has taught kindergarten for the past 25 years. Over that time many things have changed but one thing that hasn’t is her ability to self-evaluate here instruction and willingness to incorporate engaging, high interest activities into her lessons. One of the technologies she began using over a decade ago to help her kids practice their use of colors, phonics, numbers, geometry, measurement, and seasonal activities through the use of a program called “StarFall”, available on-line, which they can bring up on their classroom iPads or computers while participating in small collaborative groups. At first she said that it was difficult breaking away from pencil & paper, write/draw/color repeat activities to aid in their rote memorization, but because they were so excited and retaining most of what they practiced, her other staple “tried & true lessons” began quickly fading away into history as did the majority of her discipline problems. Her kids love working with technology, with “hands-on, real-world” projects, and her classroom’s Makerspace program is a huge hit. They are fearless, actively engaged with the material, enjoying themselves, and collaboratively learning valuable skills in the process. My wife’s kids have become active participants, taking ownership of their learning instead of playing the role of passive observer which I remember from my own youth. Much of this enriched learning environment would not have been possible without technology integration and my wife’s passion to seek out and receive training in programs she feels will benefit her children. Granted, I haven’t had the opportunity to visit many other kindergarten classes, but I’d like to think that what my wife is doing in her classroom is the norm and not the exception. “To prepare our youth for unprecedented challenges we must teach them to be problem solvers,” I couldn’t agree more and the earlier we start the better off they’ll be. I enjoyed your post, thank you for sharing.
The chapters on international application really made me think. I knew we weren't all on the "same page", but I didn't expect the huge difference between other developed countries.
ReplyDeleteYou said, "I find it fascinating that Korea had included government policy supporting instructional design."
I thought this was interesting too, and then I realized that "technology" takes on a whole new meaning there. In other classes and this one, we've had discussions about creativity, collaboration, problem-solving... and I've mentioned helping my students learn how to question the world around them. The text description of Korean technology was more like a recorded lecture or something on CD, which is part of instruction that is not to be questioned. A teacher from the U.S. might be taken aback by the "technology" use there because it differs so much in advancement and application. A student from Korea may hesitate to engage in inquisitive pursuits here because it wouldn't be in his nature.
Not only do we use different technologies altogether, but we also apply it differently and have different goals. The chapters this week mentioned it being difficult to design instruction globally. I can certainly see that being an issue... especially when the desired outcome could be different depending on the location.
Your Venn Diagram was an excellent visual to show how the three contexts intersect and their individual differences. In reading your blog I can see a fresh caring young teacher who’s just starting her teaching adventure. Don’t be surprised by what parents will fight you on when it comes to change. They don’t readily embrace it because they are affair they will not be able to help their child and don’t want to be seen in a bad light in their child’s eye. Continue to do what is prescribed and don’t worry there will be many more changes that will occur and parents won’t like those either. We must do what we know is the best for the child to help them meet the challenges of tomorrow and beyond. We have the job of getting them ready for the future. We are the professionals and as such have been trained and continue to educate ourselves on the best practices to meet the demand of educating young children.
ReplyDeleteThe military has been a jumping board for many young people’s lives, male or female. Earlier in our history, not too early, just thirty or forty years back it was the one way for young people to get some form of training that was a transferrable skill that they could use to start new careers upon leaving the military. With the all-volunteer services, it still has the same effect depending on what kind of jobs they are placed in to be trained. Also, military experience means that the future employee is trainable and disciplined. Oftentimes that is not the case for young men of today. They never learn how to dress for a job interview and few take pride in their appearance. A military experience helps them with all of this and in turn the future employers get an excellent worker. Which is what they are looking for. They get an employee who will take pride in their work and who will value time and time management. That future employer gets a lot from that ex-military man. It all comes from what programs that have been developed by IDT specialist. Their impact on military training creates a highly employable worker. I found an interesting article from Business Insider from 2014 and it discussed eleven things a military experience teaches a young person about leadership. It mentioned many of the same items that is stated earlier. Check it out; it will be worth the read.