C4T #3

Scott Kemp's blog is different than most of the blogs that I have visited; because, he uses Tumblr which is a completely different format than most blogs. Kemp's blog was titled The Radical Tactical Shift, and was composed of multiple quotes which were linked to their source. I did like the way that Scott Kemp organised his Tumblr, and Tumblr reminds me of a larger twitter composed of short quotes and sayings.

Scott Kemp's First Post

Scott Kemp's first post was a quote by Shantanu Sinha. Sinha's article can be found in the Huffington Post and was included in Scott Kemp's blog. I really enjoyed the quote that Kemp included which stated, "If we build a game in which someone is demotivated or disengaged for 45 seconds, we know we need to improve. Forty-five seconds! Imagine if we thought this way in education". Scott Kemp wanted to bring out the importance of incorporating active fun learning in the classroom as opposed to passive and boring learning. The next paragraph is the comment that I submitted in response to Kemp's post.

Hello,
I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am currently enrolled in the course EDM310 through which I was assigned to your blog. Most Scholarly students might search for one of your more lengthy post, but I was especially drawn to this post. I found great truth in your post which especially peaked my curiosity to read more into Shantanu Sinha's article. I find that educators are robbing children of their bright future in higher education by sucking the fun out of learning. They create a dull atmosphere in their classrooms centered upon the sole technique of lecture. I feel that lecture should be strengthened by research, and mastered by in-class discussion and activities. This method, in my opinion, does not provide any down time and promotes active learning rather than passive learning. Classrooms should be alive with activity, and on all levels of education learning can be fun. The problem is that teachers do not have fun themselves, and they view their job as a job rather than investing in the lives of their students. I am an avid sports fan and lover of education so I can relate to this illustration extremely well.

C4T Teacher Swap...Dr. Strange on Lecture

Dr. Strange commented on blog post #7, and he asked me to visit his blog and comment on a post that he had made. Dr. Strange allowed me to substitute one of my C4T assignments in order to comment on his blog. Dr. Stranges blog post was titled Lectures Part 1. Dr. Strange provided plenty of information, both pro and con, concerning the benefit of lectures in the classroom. Below is my comment.

Dr. Strange,
I would like to thank you for the invitation to comment on your blog this week, and for allowing me to substitute my C4T assignment in order to read and comment on your blog post. The debate concerning the benefit of lecture in the classroom is a topic that I am extremely passionate about. There are many different theories among educators concerning how to manage a classroom, but all educators seem to revert back to the default method of teaching which is said to be lecture. I hope that all educators would agree that student comprehension of the curriculum is the most important aspect of education, and right behind student comprehension is the teacher's method of presenting the material in a way that will provide the student with the best chance of comprehension. Take note that I mentioned the student before the teacher; this is because the students comprehension is far more important than any other aspect of education. Each teacher should be open to the teaching method that will most benefit the student. Student comprehension is of the most importance!

The question that needs to be answered centers upon the teacher's method of enhancing a child's comprehension. I feel that the material must be stated to be understood. The classroom material and objectives must be stated by the teacher in order for the student to have a direction or starting point. I find that people learn by experience regardless of how many instructions have been given. For example, I would have never learned to write in cursive or do my multiplication tables if a teacher had never given me the opportunity to learn from experience. I often wonder why teachers change their philosophy of teaching as students grow older by excluding student involvement from the classroom.

We as humans are given five senses. Each of these senses enable us to perceive the world around us. I often wonder why educators find it beneficial to limit a student to one sense because by doing so they limit the child's comprehension by 80%. Lecture is strictly limited to oral communication, and oral communication will not provide a student with a full comprehension of the curriculum! Is lecture therefore of no value? Lecture seems to always be practiced in the classroom but as the ancient saying goes, everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. However, I do find lecture to be extremely beneficial in regard to education. Lecture is beneficial when used in balance with other teaching methods.

Lecture puts more emphasis on the teachers knowledge, and lecture puts less emphasis on the students comprehension. I feel that teaching tactics could be grouped into three categories: lecture, research, and discussion. People know very well the role that lecture plays in the classroom, but I find lecture to be best utilized as the instruction which enables students to explore and comprehend ON THEIR OWN. The learning method of self motivated comprehension is what I would term “research”. Students should first audibly consume instruction form lecture, then the student should take full advantage of his or her other four senses by researching the information addressed in lecture. Classroom discussions are absolutely necessary for each student to fully understand the information consumed through lecture and research. I have never become more passionate about a topic until I discuss the results of my research with peers. I find that discussion enables students to practice what they have have learned rather than the traditional consumption of information through lectures and research. I do not rank lecture, research, nor discussion; but I find each of them to be dependent on one another. To exclude one of these teaching tools, in my opinion, cripples a student from fully comprehending the material.

Lecture can be beneficial when used appropriately in regard to providing a student with the best learning environment. Feel free to give me constructive feedback on my comment! I look forward to your reply!

-Keeley Bryan