eepanty

Just as Parker Palmer noted in today’s reading, knowing is not enough for any professional. Institutional and organizational challenges requires competencies beyond classroom lessons and textbook knowledge. Dan Edelstein also alluded to the question of competency. That is competencies that can translate personal and learned experiences into workplace skills that will enable individual (in this case educators) to make an impact in either their teaching or in research careers.

Seth Godin discussion on what is the meaning of school – respect and obedience. This is particularly the case for a new faculty trying to understand his/her teaching and learning environment – knowing yourself, the people and organization. I think in education, especially in a classroom setting, situational awareness and understanding is very important. I think new teachers or PhD. graduates must expect to be challenged in their new career. But, in any situation, I think that recognizing the motivational side of other people, be it other faculty members, students or staff, and may help new PhD graduate to better cope with their new work environment/s. In all modern management based on standardized techniques and processes often do not reflect the values and attitudes that power systems and organizations.

As a working professional, my life and career experience defines my work. I focus on people, processes and outcomes. Ideas do not matter much if others cannot work well with you. Respect, good communication, empathy, compassion and selflessness coupled with a good sense of humor are some of the attributes that will help anyone navigate personal and organizational challenges in any workplace.

Paulo Freire tempo-political narratives of teaching are perhaps the most systematic assessment of pedagogy concepts that I have read in my educational career. While I agree with his banking concept of education, I would argue that social, economic and political philosophies may have stronger underlying influences than any actual teaching method. On the other hand, project-based learning practices are demonstrable examples of problem-posing education. But we must also acknowledge that there is not a one-size-fits-all model of teaching, especially when we engaged in academic inquiry, knowledge creation and transformation of ideas on a routine basis. Process learning – an iterative process of teaching and learning is probably good for research and instruction. Challenging conventional wisdom through questioning and re-processing of facts based on different assumptions.

I am certain that an authentic form of teaching as noted by Paulo Freire, will require a binary flow of actions and activities – that is, enabling both teacher-students and students-teacher to have an open dialogue and reflect simultaneously on themselves, and their thoughts and actions. For the most part, situational awareness, content, and context must be defined on an individual basis. As a future teacher, I must find my mojo as an individual – that is, what would work best for me and my students based on several factors. But the goal must always be to create a mutually beneficial atmosphere, allow for full understanding and comprehension of the subject-matter by students, as well as for teachers to seek opportunities to learn from students. I believe that the role of the teacher is to facilitate and enable the conversation to take place among peers, establishing norms for dialogue, and re-examining assumptions through prompts. Encouraging the free flow of ideas from different perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences – and critiquing from the sidelines.

All in all, education must enable teachers and students to become independent knowledge creators. Students and teachers alike must be able to learn from each other’s experience and to use their awareness of differences to further inquiry through critical thinking, questioning assumptions and dialogue in the learning process. To be clear, people learn more from their immediate environment and associations, which is often outside formal educational instructions. As such, social, cultural and political realities have a role to play informal learning. Any attempts by a teacher to control thinking and action is unhelpful to the development of authentic thinking by students. While totalitarian regimes have found ways to educate and re-educate their citizens on their political doctrines, in liberal democracies, education cannot be guided by fears, political ideologies, and prescriptive communication. Critical thinking and the freedom to think is what has powered ideas and independent thinking, which has translated economic and social concepts in medical, economic models, governance and technology.  Education without the creation of ideas is wasteful. The outcome of any education is based on pedagogical practices that can translate into economic, community and societal benefits.

Grades are learning incentives. Incentives are important, but testing as a means to incentivizing students, are not necessarily useful measures to induce creativity and spark imaginations (see Kohn, 2011; Dan Pink, TED Talk, Aug 25, 2009). Student assessment and evaluation for grading are often based on the subjective judgments, intertwined with various biases. I recognize that issues of educational measurement techniques are not only psychological and pedagogical questions (as Kohn argued,) but also have social and cultural implications.

I agree with Kohn’s (2011) argument on the inverse relationship between a “grading orientation” and a “learning orientation” to learning. That there is a negative effect on learning when the emphasis is placed on getting good grades, which tend to diminish students’ interest in whatever they’re learning. Perhaps, more importantly, the that a grade-oriented environment tends to reduce the quality of students’ thinking; students will perform the easiest possible task by focusing on familiar subject areas and in general, would avoid taking any unnecessary intellectual risks (Kohn, 2011).  

The norm is to measure outcomes, noting if we meet or exceed expectations. The central concern of students is assessment and not necessarily their learning experience (Lombardi, 2008). Nowadays, it appears like explicit motivations are the most prevailing and acceptable social and cultural narratives in term of learning assessment. Even as an “achieved” professional and an adult learner who should know better, I still pay attention to my class grades with the goal of getting excellent grades. The purpose is not the pursuit of excellence in my field of study or practice. My motivation is to meet or exceed the expectations of the class or professor or the university. As future educators, we must learn betters ways to effectively engage students and support their personal growth; and by setting the right expectations, providing very clear, practical, and specific feedback on past performance. I think the primary goal of an educator must be to provide students with relevant context and information, support their intellectual development, and improve their scope and understanding important issues. 

Overall, facts may be contradictory in some settings, but it is generally accepted that it is difficult to measure critical thinking and creativity. As Lombardi correctly stated, the “long-term knowledge retention and transfer” of knowledge should be the focus of colleges and universities. And while colleges and universities are not expected to do away with their traditional grade systems (i.e. standard-based or criterion-based testing), long-term changes are possible. For instance, I agree with Dan Pink’s argument that a constructive way to motivate and improve learning outcomes and student performance is to allow students to operate in an environment where there is a fair level of autonomy, mastery, and purpose. 

It is evident that our current teaching model is based on a presumption of stability, and continuity, and progress in a controlled environment. In today’s internet environment, the production and delivery of information or content are constantly changing and evolving. This is in contrast with the twentieth-century education environment, which as Thomas and Brown rightfully articulated, is defined by information being transferred from teacher to student.

What is different today is that the internet infrastructure and information technology are powered mass participation. It is clear to me that the widespread adoption of technology in higher ed. is challenging the education and teaching status quo that has remained relatively unchanged for most of the twentieth century. Learning is no longer a static, one directional experience. In addition, colleges and universities are experiencing an increase or enrollment growth of non-traditional students – who are older, working, have a family or all three, just like myself. For more information, see NPR ED – How Learning Happens: “Shaken By Economic Change, ‘Non-Traditional’ Students Are Becoming The New Normal.” In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the fall of 2015, there were about 5.9 million students enrolled in any distance education courses at degree-granting postsecondary institutions. This is only possible because of the internet and online information dissemination. With these changes, the way content or information is delivered is constantly changing.

Source: US News (“https://www.usnews.com”)

The internet and other forms of digital-enabled technology platforms are transforming or reshaping education content, real-time learning experiences, as well as giving context to the meaning of information based on our environment. While there is some resistance or arguments against the use of technology in the classroom, and in general, the usefulness of technology to the learning experience. To the resistance or those single-minded views of learning, I would say, the genie is out of the bottle. The Internet has changed the way we interact and utilize technology and information. Our teaching environment is constantly being influenced by technology, and the type of students enrolled in our institutions. As we learn from recently NPR new report, in the US, “almost half of all undergraduate students in higher education today can be categorized as non-traditional.”

Adult learners learn differently and schools have to adapt their practices to adequate and address the needs of students. In fact, old and antiquated teaching practices that seem to stifle creativity and people’s self-esteem must give way to new participatory and deliberative learning approaches, adapting and utilizing technology and digital information, as well as emphasizing mindful learning techniques.   

Digital technology and information infrastructure or system have already transformed the ways to teach and learn. The cultural era of a stable, gradual, and progressive learning in a defined and controlled environment is almost over. The impacts of technology and information on teaching will continue to increase and grow. What is challenging for educators is that technology changes are rapid and spontaneous, and adaptation is slow as educational institutions are yet to develop standardized practices.

Going forward, perhaps the big challenge is on how to effectively deliver and distribute digital content in a structured and centralized format, to help both teachers and students to adapt and operate in a culture and environment where people learn differently. Professors must learn to embrace change and stop arguing against the use of technologies (cell phone, tablet and computer) in class. To me, these are necessary distractions, in our new learning environment. New culture of learning has emerged. Of particular interest to me, is the emerging phenomenon of gamification, which is probably the most interesting aspect of contemporary learning as people learn through play and imagination.

In a contemporary context, I think pedagogy can be a “journey of self-discovery, reflection, and collaborative inquiry.” I like Kuh’s argument that education is becoming less about inquiry, but more about careers and competencies. I think his conceptual learning framework assuming a progressive culture of education supports the concepts of self-actualization and student-centered learning.

While the notion of self-actualization may apply to both faculty and students alike, in terms of relevance and meaning, it may apply more to faculty. On the other hand, problem-based learning approaches within a student-centered learning environment are ways to help students gain valuable career skills and competencies. In all, pedagogy involves both learning and growth through inquiry.