Thursday, September 25, 2014

Day 24: A Learning Trend

I'm embarrassed to say that I have little idea of how to respond to Day 24's prompt, which asks me to comment on a learning trend. Maybe it's being in the community college bubble, but that's a buzzword (not to belittle it!) that I'm not familiar with except conceptually.

A quick Google search returns hits that usually center on technology in the classroom. We've already been writing about technology in the classroom. I get it, I'm behind, at least a little. But what other learning trends are there?

I was "raised" by my colleagues and instructors to teach using student-centered learning techniques: calling on students to engage them in a class discussion, alternating activities to keep them focused, on task, and in charge of their learning.

I suppose that On Course, which I wrote about before and used to jokingly refer to as The Cult of Personal Responsibility, is/was another trend that I dabble in.



A couple of colleagues are using Carol Dweck's Mindset (or excerpts from it) which details the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset and how cultivating a growth mindset helps students to do better. On my maternity/sabbatical leave I definitely intend to explore that....and maybe other learning trends as well! As my Bayan Professor colleague pointed out, we are lucky to teach in a skills-based subject and still have the ability to choose the content for the material we explore.


 
 What are some other non-tech related learning trends? I would love to get ideas.

1 comment:

bayanprofessor said...

Love that epithet: cult of responsibility! On Course was my first experience with "positive psychology" movement. Grit is another buzzword worth exploring...