One thing for sure is that we certainly have a degree of uncertainty when it comes to pedagogy. There are so many ideologies yet to be explored in order to determine whether to adopt or drop in a school context. Do we need teachers or do we need facilitators? In the ever growing network of resources, have we reached a point where learners are better off learning by themselves and teaching each other apposed to the current conventional system.
Then I thought in terms of medicine, clinical trials are meant to facilitate the discovery of compatible drugs or therapies required for treatment. This provides insight into long term effects of the treatment and allows for us to adapt treatment more effectively. In contrast, it seems to me that discoveries in pedagogy aren't often adapted into education systems, is this because we're afraid of the long term effects, or how it effects tertiary studies?
This brings me to review the documentary The Independent Project (2011). The documentary investigates the ideology explored by a group of learners at Monument Mountain Regional High School who started their own school system. The learners determined what they study, how they study and then teach each other the content in their research or projects they conduct. Its a novel idea, but will it work for everyone, everywhere. Often there are principles that you have to understand well before you can advance in the field. There's a basal level, or threshold of understanding before you are able to advance in order for you to apply or combine previously learnt information with the new. Can the system, developed by the learners of Monument Mountain Regional High School, work as practically as the current system and can it practically prepare students for tertiary studies?
Out of my own experience I went for extra maths an science classes in my final school year at Master Maths, a tutoring organization that makes use of computer software to teach and test students to improve their grades. I personally benefited from the experience and I seldom required a teacher to explain a concept or problem. Only when I ran into problems, or struggled with a concept, the standby facilitator would then help me with my problem and then once I understood the concept he/she would move onto the next student with a raised hand. This system felt more interactive, I became more time efficient, covering work faster than I would have in my classroom at school. Then again, some of my friends had different experiences to me and insisted that Master Maths never worked for them.
With the rise in our global population, classrooms will become too full and teachers will become too few to teach, leading to an imbalanced ratio of teacher to learner. We need to start 'trialing' new ideologies to accommodate the future of pedagogy.
Then I thought in terms of medicine, clinical trials are meant to facilitate the discovery of compatible drugs or therapies required for treatment. This provides insight into long term effects of the treatment and allows for us to adapt treatment more effectively. In contrast, it seems to me that discoveries in pedagogy aren't often adapted into education systems, is this because we're afraid of the long term effects, or how it effects tertiary studies?
This brings me to review the documentary The Independent Project (2011). The documentary investigates the ideology explored by a group of learners at Monument Mountain Regional High School who started their own school system. The learners determined what they study, how they study and then teach each other the content in their research or projects they conduct. Its a novel idea, but will it work for everyone, everywhere. Often there are principles that you have to understand well before you can advance in the field. There's a basal level, or threshold of understanding before you are able to advance in order for you to apply or combine previously learnt information with the new. Can the system, developed by the learners of Monument Mountain Regional High School, work as practically as the current system and can it practically prepare students for tertiary studies?
Out of my own experience I went for extra maths an science classes in my final school year at Master Maths, a tutoring organization that makes use of computer software to teach and test students to improve their grades. I personally benefited from the experience and I seldom required a teacher to explain a concept or problem. Only when I ran into problems, or struggled with a concept, the standby facilitator would then help me with my problem and then once I understood the concept he/she would move onto the next student with a raised hand. This system felt more interactive, I became more time efficient, covering work faster than I would have in my classroom at school. Then again, some of my friends had different experiences to me and insisted that Master Maths never worked for them.
With the rise in our global population, classrooms will become too full and teachers will become too few to teach, leading to an imbalanced ratio of teacher to learner. We need to start 'trialing' new ideologies to accommodate the future of pedagogy.
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