4 ms·

Well, I understand two positions that I find coherent (and I spend my time switching between them): - Either you do see the classroom as a conduit of knowledge

by Iv 10y ago

Well, I understand two positions that I find coherent (and I spend my time switching between them): - Either you do see the classroom as a conduit of knowledge from teachers to students. Indeed, that's not all there is to learning, you need to understand and exercise your new knowledge, but that happens in a different time, outside the classroom. - Or you see knowledge transmission as a more or less autonomous task and you favor social interactions between students to help them "build understanding" as you suggest. In that case the teacher (and, arguably, the classroom) is not necessary anymore. I fail to see why you would want a classroom and teacher if you are in the position 2. I know something it is that if I were to pay for a class, I would want to have more than a bunch of people equally ignorant as I am trying to understand a thing together. I would want an experienced teacher giving us the core knowledges. But again, I mostly live in the IT world, where such a class is almost never necessary.

aethertap 10y ago
Having a discussion like this serves numerous purposes for a skilled teacher. By having a genuine discussion, the teacher can: * get an immediate assessment of students' understanding * provoke deep processing by the students who participate * Draw out students who are otherwise passive and disengaged * Learn what subtopics are particularly interesting to the class, and adapt the schedule accordingly * Allow students to experience the process of active learning rather than having everything handed to them * Other things... It's not an either/or situation, it's a tactic. A good teacher will use open-ended discussion for all of those things and more, but it isn't the only thing going on in a typical class. Ultimately, the teacher is still there imparting knowledge. The discussion is just one of the ways that's done, and a high quality discussion can be extremely valuable.

by Iv 10y ago

aethertap 10y ago

Having a discussion like this serves numerous purposes for a skilled teacher. By having a genuine discussion, the teacher can: * get an immediate assessment of students' understanding * provoke deep processing by the students who participate * Draw out students who are otherwise passive and disengaged * Learn what subtopics are particularly interesting to the class, and adapt the schedule accordingly * Allow students to experience the process of active learning rather than having everything handed to them * Other things... It's not an either/or situation, it's a tactic. A good teacher will use open-ended discussion for all of those things and more, but it isn't the only thing going on in a typical class. Ultimately, the teacher is still there imparting knowledge. The discussion is just one of the ways that's done, and a high quality discussion can be extremely valuable.