Reimagining Classrooms: Teachers as Learners and Students as Leaders | Kayla Delzer | TEDxFargo
TLDRThe speaker, a passionate educator, shares her commitment to revitalizing the learning environment. She emphasizes the importance of embracing student-centered teaching, leveraging technology purposefully, and fostering digital citizenship. Through innovative practices like Genius Hour and global connections, she aims to prepare students for the real world, highlighting the transformative impact of genuine relationships between students and teachers.
Takeaways
- 😀 The importance of a positive and engaging classroom environment was emphasized, with the teacher's promise to make a student love school despite initial resistance.
- 🏫 A call to revitalize learning and classrooms by breaking away from traditional models that have remained unchanged for decades.
- 👦 The teacher's perspective on seeing students and their learning styles as unique and diverse, leading to incredible results.
- 🚫 A critique of the misuse of power by teachers as gatekeepers of knowledge, advocating for a shift towards student-centered learning.
- 📱 The abundance of modern resources available to teachers, which should be leveraged to create less teacher-centered classrooms.
- 👩🏫 The suggestion to use a 'student teaching student' model, where students learn and then teach others, including the teacher.
- 🕰️ The concept of 'Genius Hour', allowing students to explore their passions, thereby making learning relevant and ownership-driven.
- 🛠️ The argument against using technology for its own sake, urging educators to prioritize purposeful and transformative tech integration.
- 📚 A reminder that boring activities remain boring even when transferred to digital platforms, highlighting the need for meaningful tech use.
- 📵 A critique of schools' policies on cell phones and internet access, suggesting that these restrictions hinder students' real-world preparedness.
- 🌐 The necessity for educators to facilitate global connections and digital citizenship, preparing students for the modern workforce.
- 📈 The need to reassess how we evaluate students, focusing on creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, grit, and digital literacy.
- 🌟 The final takeaway highlighting the transformation of a student's attitude from hating school to loving it, illustrating the power of a passionate teacher and an engaging classroom.
Q & A
What was the initial reaction of the little boy in the classroom?
-The little boy expressed strong negative emotions towards school and teachers, saying he hated school, hated teachers, and did not want to be there.
How did the teacher respond to the boy's outburst?
-The teacher took a calm breath, found her biggest smile, got down to the boy's level, and promised him that he would love school that year.
What has remained largely unchanged in classrooms over the past 70 years?
-The type of classrooms and learning environments have remained largely the same over the past 70 years.
What is the teacher's goal regarding the learning environment?
-The teacher's goal is to continually revitalize learning and the classroom to make them more engaging and dynamic.
How does the teacher view her students and their learning?
-The teacher sees her students and their learning differently, recognizing individual learning styles and aiming to achieve incredible results.
What is the teacher's stance on the use of technology in the classroom?
-The teacher believes in embracing purposeful technology that transforms the classroom and enhances learning, rather than using it just for the sake of it.
What is the 'Genius Hour' and how does it work?
-Genius Hour is based on Google's 20% policy, where students get one hour a week to study topics they are passionate about, fostering ownership and relevance in their learning.
Why is it important for teachers not to master every single app or tool before introducing them to students?
-Teachers don't need to master every tool to empower students; instead, they can use a student-teaching-student model, which encourages peer learning and teacher-student collaboration.
What is the issue with using technology without considering its purpose in the classroom?
-Using technology without a clear purpose can be wasteful and ineffective; it should enhance learning experiences and not just be a substitute for traditional methods.
Why are some schools still banning cell phones and blocking resources like YouTube?
-Some schools still ban cell phones and block resources like YouTube due to outdated policies that do not recognize the educational potential of these tools, potentially hindering students' learning and preparation for the real world.
What is the teacher's perspective on the importance of digital citizenship and global connections in education?
-The teacher believes that fostering digital citizenship and making global connections are crucial for preparing students for the modern world, where technology and global collaboration are key components of success.
How does the teacher assess her students beyond traditional academic skills?
-The teacher assesses her students on creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, grit, digital literacy, and other skills needed for success in the real world.
What was the transformation in the student named Christian by the end of the school year?
-Christian, who initially hated school, ended up loving it so much that he was crying on the last day and did not want to leave, showing a significant transformation in his attitude towards learning.
What impact did the students have on the teacher's life?
-The students taught the teacher about humility, authenticity, patience, humor, and other valuable life lessons, highlighting the reciprocal nature of the learning process.
What remains constant despite changes in technology, laws, and standards in education?
-The relationships between students and passionate teachers remain the foundation of successful classrooms, regardless of changes in technology, laws, and standards.
Outlines
📚 Transforming Traditional Classrooms
The speaker, Noelia Castellano, begins by recounting a confrontation with a student who dislikes school and teachers. She pledges to make him love school, highlighting the need for a classroom transformation. She points out the stagnation in classroom design over the past 70 years and expresses her goal to revitalize learning environments. Noelia emphasizes the uniqueness of her students and their learning styles, which she leverages to achieve remarkable results. She calls for embracing the students of today to shape the future, urging teachers to use their power wisely and to shift from teacher-centered to student-centered classrooms. She advocates for the use of technology and student-teaching-student models to empower students and make learning relevant and engaging.
🚫 The Futility of Technology Bans in Schools
Noelia criticizes the outdated practices of banning cell phones in schools and blocking educational resources like YouTube. She argues that such measures deprive students of valuable learning opportunities and fail to prepare them for the real world. Noelia stresses the importance of integrating technology into the classroom to foster digital citizenship and to expose students to global perspectives. She encourages educators to embrace social media and other digital tools to enrich the learning experience and to help students develop a positive digital footprint that can enhance their future employability.
🌐 Embracing Global Connections and Modern Skills
The speaker discusses the importance of making global connections in education, suggesting that with a few clicks, students can virtually visit museums or participate in international exchanges. She emphasizes that learning should not be confined to the classroom and should instead be a global experience. Noelia also addresses the need to reassess the skills we teach and value in students, advocating for the assessment of creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, grit, and digital literacy. She challenges educators to prepare students for the future by fostering these skills and to guide their teaching and learning values towards a true educational north.
💖 The Power of Relationships in Education
In the final paragraph, Noelia shares the story of a student named Christian who transformed from hating school to loving it, illustrating the profound impact a passionate teacher can have on a student's life. She reflects on the lessons she has learned from her students about humility, authenticity, patience, and humor. Noelia concludes by emphasizing that while technology and standards may change, the enduring foundation of successful classrooms will always be the relationships between students and passionate teachers.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Revitalization
💡Student-Centered Learning
💡Genius Hour
💡Digital Citizenship
💡Technology Integration
💡Authentic Learning
💡Global Connections
💡21st Century Skills
💡Digital Footprint
💡Educational North
💡Relationships in Education
Highlights
A teacher's promise to a disgruntled student to make him love school.
The stagnation of classroom environments over the past 70 years and the goal to revitalize learning.
A unique perspective on classrooms and students, leading to incredible learning outcomes.
The call for teachers to embrace today's students to reimagine education for tomorrow.
The potential misuse of power by teachers as gatekeepers of knowledge in the classroom.
The abundance of resources available to teachers in 2015 to shift towards student-centered classrooms.
The student teaching student model for integrating technology and tools in the classroom.
The concept of Genius Hour, inspired by Google's 20% policy, to foster student passion and ownership.
The importance of embracing student knowledge and its impact on learning.
The critique of using technology without a transformative purpose in the classroom.
The argument against the effectiveness of traditional worksheets on digital platforms.
The distinction between skill-based and project-based apps and the encouragement to create.
The necessity for technology to be accessible to students when and where learning happens.
An example of a QR code app that transformed reading instruction and improved fluency scores.
The outdated practice of banning cell phones in schools and its impact on students' digital experience.
The irony of blocking YouTube, the top search engine for students, and its implications for learning.
The importance of real-world learning and providing students with tools for lifelong success.
The role of educators as champions of digital citizenship and the impact on employability.
The challenge for educators to ensure students have a positive digital footprint for future opportunities.
The potential of virtual field trips and global connections to expand students' learning experiences.
The call to reinvent skills assessment beyond standardized tests to include creativity and critical thinking.
The personal growth of a student named Christian who learned to love school and the impact on the teacher.
The enduring importance of relationships between students and passionate teachers in successful education.
Transcripts
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