A response to my previous post has me thinking about how people perceive things and experiences. With all of the talk about teaching differently or trying to reach people in different ways, should we try to experience things the same way?
The response was regarding video games, how Christine (I think) had different experiences of playing video games than her son had and she wondered if she should think differently about the approach. While I think that it's a good idea to try and approach things from a different perspective, I don't necessarily think we all need to experience things the same.
Experiences can be similar or the same for another person but not as enjoyable. One example is that I took my boyfriend to a horse show this summer. Although we have very different experiences with horses and horse shows, I found it much more enjoyable than he did. It wasn't so much that we were experiencing things differently, his interests in watching it were different.
What does this mean for teachers? Well, try to at least understand the experience of the students when trying to teach something. Those that aren't engaged are probably that way for one reason or another and a small change in teaching style might draw some of them in. Does that mean we should cater to every single individual in a classroom? No. It means that some kids may just need a different approach to the material. A lot of students have diverse interests and it may just take adjusting assignment requirements or expectations to get them involved.
It bothers me when teachers expect children to conform to a specific set of guidelines and then wonder why the students aren't responding. Yes, they should have to prove themselves in some form or another, but I don't think that means expecting the same experiences and responses from 30 individuals.
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Expectations must be tempered for both teachers and students, I think, though the former still need to make more headway in this regard. Incorporating a variety of teaching approaches does appear as a better answer than simply amending one's pedagogy wholesale. This is one of the many characteristics of teaching that I enjoy, the importance of paying attention to students' needs and revising my pedagogical practices accordingly. This keeps me on my toes, makes for a satisfying challenge every semester.
ReplyDeleteI agree--good teachers should adjust their lessons to meet the needs of their students. Failure to do this comes across as an apathetic attitude toward the experience of the students.
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