Teaching and Learning Philosophy
I used to spend hours preparing for lectures and I learned a GREAT deal about the material I was teaching to the students. But I was often surprised (and frustrated) at how little THEY seemed to learn and/or retain. And it still distresses me to find too many students of all ages and settings focusing on grades rather than on their learning. I understand the culture that helped create this problem, but it is time for a new teaching and learning paradigm and it is happening all around us at this very moment...
Most of us in the USA (and probably around the globe) were raised with pedagogy that trained us to sit glued in our chairs taking notes as fast as we could and generating our best guesses at what needed to be memorized for regurgitation on exams and/or papers. We were lectured by the 'Sage on the Stage' -- and the educator's journals are filled with research about how little retention (therefore how little TRUE learning) transpires with this form of pedagogy. I've forgotten the source, but there is about 10% retention (if you're lucky) at the end of a year.
The new teaching and learning paradigm adopts a 'Guide on the Side' attitude for the faculty role. Understanding that true learning takes effort and participation and involvement on the part of the learner, the new pedagogy involves creating a structured learning environment for the student to navigate with assistance. The faculty role of providing the structure, the resources, and the environment for learning is crucial to the process and is the most appropriate role for a new learning paradigm. But students who have spent most of their academic careers in old paradigm classrooms may sometimes find that they grow frustrated with their 'Guide on the Side' and desperately want the 'Sage on the Stage' to just tell them what they need to know. This minimizes immediate frustration but rarely improves true lifelong learning.
Most of us were also raised in competitive learning environments where we tried to 'out-do' our classmates, or resigned ourselves to being 'inferior' when we couldn't successfully compete. The majority of today's work environments are too complex for isolated employees to accomplish their tasks and be productive working from a competitive attitude. Today, employers succeed when they generate environments for cooperative teamwork inside the organization, and view their competition as the external marketplace. Internal organizational competition is counterproductive for employees as well as the employer. There is an increasing need for teamwork and cooperation in the workplace as well as the classroom. Our teaching and learning paradigms MUST promote teamwork and cooperative learning environments. Since nursing remains a primarily female profession, the additional complications of gender roles and issues complicate the development of authentic teamwork and cooperative learning in nursing. (Playing house with dolls was never a TEAM sport...) But awareness is a good place to begin...
Obviously, I could ramble on at length here, but will provide the summary of my teaching and learning philosophy by listing the highlights below. These points absolutely reflect the 'Digest' version of my philosophy, my intent, and my goals for working with learners of all ages, in all places, and at all times... Some of those learners just happen to be students!
|
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, by Douglas Adams, is delightfully silly reading that I highly recommend. Page 2 of the Hitchhiker's Guide has the words DON'T PANIC in big bold letters, and instructions to refer to page 2 when in doubt... This is a philosophy I hope learners in the new paradigm will adopt as they transition between old and new modes of learning. And like everything else in life, it gets easier with more practice! |
Goodwin's Classrooms (Both Traditional and Online)
Guiding Principles for Learning:
- The professor doesn't know ALL the answers...
- Create a community of self-directed learners with a spirit of teamwork and collaboration.
- Encourage students to identify and act upon their own learning needs
- Active learner participation and involvement.
- Giving and sharing of resources, skills, knowledge.
- Really current (WWW) reading and resources.
- Take new risks: go where you've never 'gone' before.
- NO wimps and NO whiners. There is TOO much to learn and learning is incompatible with cowardice, whining, and complaining. (Yes, learning takes EFFORT on the learner's part and is sometimes hard...)
- Creative thinking. Criticial thinking. Form educated opinions, then defend them.
- Almost paperless courses... (save trees and help our environment). -- still a goal although this is our weak point, thus far...
- Make it FUN -- learning is easier that way!
Credit (and sincere thanks) to Melissa Poole, Program for Excellence in Teaching, University of Missouri - Columbia who first dragged me into this new learning paradigm. My early hesitation and reluctance has now been replaced with enthusiasm!