Synthesis Paper #3

One of the biggest constraint in school reform or in education betterment is funding, amongst others.  If funding wasn't a problem, public secondary schooling can be elevated to a new level.  In 2025, as Draves puts it, cognitive learning will be the better way to manage learning.  Students will spend half of their time learning on the internet and half of the other time meeting in groups with other students to exchange information and interact with other students. This means the structure of education will change from a traditional classroom setting to an individual learning online plus cooperation meeting setting.  Teachers will take the role of a facilitator more than that of a lecturer.  Students will be able to self-evaluate and self assess their own comprehension and learn at their own pace. 

In 2025, it will be more important for students to develop the 5 minds for the future that Gardner pointed out in his book.  What we consider unique knowledge today may not be so unique in 2025.  One of the ideas to better improve curriculum in 2025 will be in-depth learning.  Students understand more and better when they are exposed to in-depth discussion or learning related to one thing rather than surface level knowledge on many topics.  Gardner also mentions expertise in a specific field.  We see many who succeed today- not because they know how to do everything but because they know how to do ONE thing really great.  We can really see real life examples of this-  Tiger Woods with golf, Kim Yuna with figure skating, and Mark Zuckerburg with facebook just to name a few.  The video clip also highlighted project based learning to help with in-depth studies.  One of the teachers who interviewed mentioned a real good point, "I don't remember what the lesson or the test was about but I remember the projects" and this is really true for many of us.  If we had more project based learning in school, we may be remembering so much more information.  The other one I liked was integrating emotional intelligence into the curriculum.  As the world turns more IT oriented, I worried about social/human relations weakening but it seems like emotional intelligence can cover the possible lacking of personal/social interactions. 

For pedagogy, as I mentioned earlier, teachers would have to take on the role of a facilitator rather than information provider.  Students will be able to get all the information and knowledge about any given topic and subject from the internet.  The teacher would play a bigger role as the mentor- guiding the student in the right direction and facilitating teaching.  Teachers would also be seeking for constant feedback and evaluation, as well as continued training and learning to keep up with the wealth of information available.  The video also suggested integrated studies.  In order for this to work, teachers will have to work with other teachers and make sure communication is effective in all channels. Teachers will need training to better deal with the new problems, including emotional intelligence. 



Reform Idea summary:  -upgraded technology in each school and for each student.  Equipment that enables all students to take online classes and learning.  Webcam and mic to interact with others in the classroom and possibly with peers in other countries.  A structured curriculum with online learning.  -Ongoing training for teachers (professional development) to become stronger facilitators and mentors for students.  -Project based learning materials and equipment.

Arguments:
-Online classes have more variety of subjects and topics that students can choose from.  It's healthy to give students a choice in what they want to learn and to do their own research in what they would like to learn about.  Students do not have to be compared to other students and they can move at their own pace. The effects of this will be similar to home schooled children except this will be the national/state structure for all future public schools.  According to a report finding, children who have been homeschooled all of their lives outperformed those in a traditional school environment (Homeschool).

-teachers who continue to receive training/education will better be equip to mentor/teach/facilitate students. We know from many studies and research that better trained teachers will better help improve test scores and learning.  If you want better students, it's a good idea to invest in the ones who will be leading them. 

-online classes are cheaper to maintain and manage.  Online classes can accommodate more students at a cheaper price for the state.  One reason we want to keep class sizes small is because we want to keep the student/teacher ratio low as possible for improved learning environment but with online learning, we get almost the one on one at the reduced rate.  It's a win-win solution for future schools.