I have been swamped the past two weeks trying out a new style of teaching. I have been utilizing project-based learning, because I believe it mimics the real world better. There are some things I have to tweak, but overall it is moving in the right direction.
It's amazing how many educational ideas get implemented that make no real sense. Multiple choice tests prepare students for the world in what way...? Sitting passively all day and taking notes from a speaker mimics what business situation...? In real life, you have to solve problems, complete projects, and work with other people. I don't see why education should be that much different.
I also continue to be heavily influenced by the Freedom to Learn blog, which I think is just a gem. It points out many of the fallacies of modern education system, such as the emphasis on micromanagement. I wanted to summarize the last post from this blog because it is such a great story. You always here about how children in poor countries need to become computer literate, that we need a laptop in every school, and that teachers need to teach children about computers.
In India, a person there developed "Minimally Invasive Education" as a way to address this situation. What he did was simply set up a computer kiosk, turn it on, and tell children they could play with it. With no adult instruction whatsoever, children quickly became "computer literate" and figured out how to do everything from running programs to setting up email to drawing and painting with the computer. So much for the need for massive government/adult intervention to teach children about computers. Children can learn a lot on their own given the right environment.
