After spending my summer participating in 106 hours of
professional development specifically designed for teachers, I feel the need to
reflect on what I’ve learned this summer.
Modeling Learning for our Students
The Indiana Department of Education only
requires 90 hours professional development over the course of 5 years for
license renewal.
This requirement seems outrageously low to
me. After 106 hours of course work, I still feel like there is so much I could
learn and improve on. If we as teachers don’t strive to be lifelong learners
and constantly try to gain knowledge and expand our understanding of the
world, how can we expect the same from our students?
Teaching Styles and Tools
Technology is all the rage right now, but I found it to be the least motivating of all the tools I encountered. This
summer I took three courses that followed three very different formats. First
was a fully online course (Basic Moodle for Teachers), which included weekly
notes, lessons, chats, and assignments. Second was an exploratory course
(Introduction to Entomology), which included one long day of lecture/notes
followed by 6 days of field work, and lastly was an immersive course (ASM
Materials Camp for Teachers), which included 5 intense 8am to 5pm days of
inquiry-based learning.
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| The ASM Material Science Teacher Camp group. |
What I learned is that human interaction and
personal discovery is far more motivating than anything that appears on a
computer screen. Although I learned about Moodle in my first course, the course
lacked passion. Despite an attempt to connect the students through chat rooms
and discussion forums, the online format lacked that personal touch.
On the other hand, the ASM Materials Camp
took me, and my fellow participants, on an awesome journey of discovery. We
were not given commands or lists of goals to attain. Rather we had tantalizing
supplies dangled in front of us with basic steps outlined to help us uncover
their secrets. We didn’t sit and stare at a computer screen, watch someone
else carry out experiments, or get told why science happens. We learned through
exploration. Although mistakes were made and objectives were sometimes unclear,
we soldiered on as a cohort of explorers. The interaction and cohesiveness of our
group is what made the learning experience memorable and enjoyable.
Although my courses this summer focused on
distinct subjects (Moodle, Entomology, Material Science), the most important
thing I learned is the importance of human interaction in learning. No computer
will ever be able to motivate and inspire a student quite like another human
being.
