To me, contemporary pedagogy means adapting one’s teaching style to current times. I’m grateful that a specific term for this phenomenon exists because teaching is a practice that has remained stubbornly resistant to change. In fact, it may be the most resistant to change of any everyday practice – after all, instructors commonly advocate for Socratic teaching methods, referencing a philosopher alive 2500 years ago! While I recognize the value in his methods, Socrates lived before the existence of paper. So needless to say, a lot has changed since then. A failure to incorporate modern advances into teaching strategies is a disservice to the most critical facilitator of progress, education. Fortunately the Flynn effect indicates that our education is improving, as average IQ goes up every decade. But with more incorporation of modern technology, we can improve even further. So I’m very glad that this class and professors like Dr. Murzi are encouraging us to think outside the lecture box and find newer, better ways to educate.
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Thanks Tanya for sharing your thoughts about contemporary pedagogy. I really agree with you. a classroom of today looks and operates significantly differently to the classrooms of five, ten and even 20 years ago. So, there is a lot of pressure to change the practice of teaching to accommodate the current time. As educators, it is important to explore the theory and practice of teaching and learning continuously that correspond with what contemporary pedagogy is all about. Teaching is a practice that is always a work in progress. We have kept reflecting on our teaching practice as I professionally grow also of course as handling the latest technology to incorporate in our classroom.
Thank you for the post, Tanya! I think you make really good points. I personally admire Socrates, and I think the most impressive thing about thinkers in that era is the fact that they were able to do research without a paper! As you said, it is very important to incorporate the new tech tools into the classes that we teach, and that’s why contemporary pedagogy was a super beneficial class. However, I believe that Socratic methods can still be applicable even in contemporary settings. As long as we have a good understanding of Socratic teaching, we can use many technological affordances to practice it.