It’s funny, because, as a student, I really liked the institution of school, just as much as I liked the traditional hierarchy through which it was administered…at least at the university level. I could sit in a lecture hall of 114 students and walk away feeling the same kind of informed satisfaction that I did after leaving a 15 person conference session. It depended on the personality of the professor, of course, and there were plenty who I just could not stand. But, for the most part, I took comfort in their knowledge of a subject area and trusted that by the end of the course, I, too, would share that knowledge. In this sense, I guess I was guilty of some rather blatant professor worship. Maybe so much of what I liked about school came from being good at it--I didn’t mind following directions, I strove to accomplish what was expected of me and I didn’t often argue with authority.
At the same time, I really DO appreciate that the idea of ‘just follow along’ has been subverted, and Wesch’s network model of the classroom, which provides an easily accessible platform for student participation, seems appropriate in many teaching situations. I recognize the truth in Wesch’s statement that a student’s ability to excel at school is not representative of his or her learning capabilities. I was raised by a Montessori teacher mother and have worked with average and special needs students in non-traditional school settings for several years; transforming the lesson to meet the student’s needs is much more practical and effective (not to mention fair!) than forcing individuals to conform to an institution or a particular teaching style.
Despite the examples Wesch provides from his own lessons, I have difficulty visualizing his approach in a university level classroom. I think this is because of my own university experience which, for the first two years, was anything but personal and interactive; I’ve never actually seen it done, and this makes me curious. I can, however, see his network model working smoothly in a high school classroom or below. Students collaborating on projects using tools like Skype and Diigo, conducting web-based research, checking facts and information, posting questions on class wikis where their classmates can provide answers or feedback. If these kinds of meaningful learning connections can be made at the high school or middle school level, then I imagine they must be possible on a grander scale within a university classroom.
I too shared your love for learning, but did have some awful professors in college that really ruined my experiences at times. I often felt left out or looked over in those 300 student lecture halls, but worked so hard to do everything that was asked of me. Still to no avail, I ended up changing my major many times, and not even to become a teacher! I ended up a Math/Economics major. I would love to see this type of technology brought into the University level of education. I think it is what the students want and for some, what they have been getting. It would be a drag if they went from an amazing high school that was 1:1 and now attended a University where there was little to no collaboration and interaction. One can only hope!
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