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Are You Becoming Your Parents?


Has everyone seen these commercials about turning into your parents? These are a good metaphor for the education system. Most teachers are their "parents". We are emulating the people who came before us. Worksheets, textbooks and lectures worked for us, so why doesn't it work for our students? Education needs an overhaul and education professionals need to work on pushing themselves outside of their comfort zones in order to create environments that are more conducive for today's learners.

The article on personal learning environments explains the benefits of helping students create a personal learning environment. PLE's that combine formal and informal learning are beneficial for students because they build self-efficacy among learners. These students glean knowledge from a variety of places and exhibit knowledge in a variety of ways. As  "traditional" educators, we have to be open to allowing students to curate their own learning spaces. Like the commercial, this is going to be uncomfortable. We have to turn away from the worksheets, and lectures. We need to lean into Twitter and Tiktok. We need to allow our students to decide how, what and why they are learning. Don't become your parent!
 

Comments

  1. Lauren ShellMay 29, 2022 at 4:48 PM

    Yes! I love this post. I definitely believe in continuing my own education and growing from new and changing technologies, even when it is a bit of a challenging or uncomfortable experience, so that I don't simply, become my parents! I think being open to allowing students to curate their own learning spaces is so important. I'm fully onboard with using things like Twitter and TikTok for teaching purposes!

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