The most notable advance was the 'maker-movement.' It has been my experience that many science classrooms enforce a lab component, but that it does not have a creative basis. Most labs were simply done because the teacher told us to, we found what the teacher wanted us to find with his/her experimental set-up. There were very few cases that I remember a teacher having the students do something original, be it slightly altering an experiment and trying to discover something extra on their own. So often I feel like the teachers hold the students' hands and walk them through the lab, but the students are rarely encouraged or forced to grow and develop their own procedures. The maker-movement is just that, encouraging students, particularly in the sciences, to develop and make their own experiments, leading to greater understanding and care for the STEM fields.
The other trend that I could see in my future life in education is gaming. Often times students are turned off to science and math courses because they seem boring. Gaming is a way to incorporate a fun aspect to teach scientific phenomena. I remember in my senior physics class we had two lessons that were portrayed to us through games. One of witch was a game where we had to place charges at particular points to direct a free charge into a goal, sort of like electric hockey. While using this program we were able to see how the charges interact based on their sign, distance, speed, etc. and have a fun time trying to solve the various challenges.
I think the 'maker-movement' fits your field of interest very well. I think science is one field that needs to be creatively revamped. I liked your idea on giving the students a sense of direction but not necessarily "holding their hands" as they progress through the experiment and class. I think this is a great way for them to discover and invent , as well as find a stronger interest in their field of study.
ReplyDeleteThe second paragraph was a bit harder for me to agree with, mainly because I think a true educational experience is harder to achieve through gaming. However, your example of a game did show me that this technology can be used effectively, and while I myself am not completely convinced, I think its great for you and your field of study, especially if it can work to your benefit like in your example. Nicely done.
The maker's movement is big in getting kids interested in the STEM subjects. I think that the STEM areas are the subject areas where we need to get students interested in. By letting them do things on their own, this opens up their mind up to the things that they can do in the future.
ReplyDeleteI am not a big fan of the gaming trend. I do believe that these games do help students, but there are only so many games out there that can be used in one subject. You aren't always going to find a game that fits to your lesson that your teaching. However, like you said if you do find a game that does really help studetns, then there is no reason why you shouldn't use that game.
I agree with your take on the gaming trend. When I was in high school, like you said, I found science kinda boring. If my teacher would have found a way fun way to teach it I probably would have done much better in the class. Your example showed ways of getting the students activley involved in what their learning which I think will hold their focus and help them learn the subject matter in more depth.
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