Final Reflection

I have been meaning to post something here for weeks! All my recent teaching inspiration has been so… old school. And old school inspiration deserves special mention on a site devoted to 21st century learning, right? I have found inspiration recently in a book written in 1847. A MATH textbook from 1847, in fact. This gem, recently republished, is a color-illustrated version of Euclid’s Elements, without the algebra notation. It’s genius. Our school library purchased a copy, and I showed it to my students as an example of how geometry is connected to Truth, Beauty, and Usefulness simultaneously. The introduction by the author was particularly inspiring – in 1847 he was advocating for differentiated instruction, constructivism in mathematics, and for supporting the math education of girls. I wonder what he would think of our classrooms today.

I have also found myself inspired by watching my son’s basketball coaches, or by talking with my almost-graduates about their future plans. One common theme in all these areas is the focus on the individual and on relationships. 21st century learning may utilize plenty of technology, but to me it is about teaching to the individual, forming a relationship with each student, and guiding them on a part of their unique journey. 21st century learning is not one-size-fits-all. Our technology means it doesn’t have to be that way anymore, and I hope to continue harnessing that powerful trait to the benefit of my future students.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a video of my final reflection. It has been great working with all of you this year and I hope to continue to hear about your own adventures in the future!

[youtube]http://youtu.be/xYIi20MAOhA[/youtube]

 

4 Replies to “Final Reflection”

  1. Great post Ruth! What you’ve said about the past informing the future is so key. We can’t assume that what is happening in schools today is something totally new and earth shattering. If we do believe this we may fall victim to ‘edu-tainment’.

    I’ve posted a great article that supports this notion. It’s entitled “The Digital Revolution & Learning Revolution – Beyond the Hype”. It’s a fantastic article that uses the writing of enlightenment thinker JJ Rousseau to comment and caution the EdTech revolution. It might interest you:

    http://www.digitalcounterrevolution.co.uk/2014/sugata-mitra-rousseau-educational-romanticism/

    Looking forward to chatting more on Friday!

  2. Ruth,

    Congratulations on consolidating all of your C21 learning into one flipped lesson; it was awesome feeling like I was a student in your class and seeing first hand how your flipped lessons would look and feel! What app are you using to annotate your doc? And are you scribing on an iPad?

    I really resonated with your comment about the technology being less the point than the relationships and the connections. Technology is not, I think, a means to an end, but rather a valuable tool to achieve big goals. I really liked this explanation of “deeper learning” (which is just another way of saying 21st Century Learning Skills): http://gettingsmart.com/2013/10/schools-highlighted-deeper-learning-infographic/ perhaps it could be helpful when framing the piece that “ed tech” can play.

    And thanks for your honesty about the meandering part. I found the same thing with my action plan and I’m actually only now seeing how valuable that was for my own journey. It’s not the product, I’m seeing, and more of the process where the juicy learning happens.

    Can’t wait to see your face at the final F2F on Friday!

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