I have to say that this session had information and content I am still processing. This is the first of two post.
Pink starts out stating that people spend about 41% of their time at work trying persuade people to give up something they value for something you have to offer. He believes that in education this number is much higher and I would have to agree.
Educators are trying to influence and move people to a new behavior. But we are doing it now in a much different landscape than in the past. In the past educators were the keepers of the information That is no longer the case. Students have access to all the information they need on their cell phones. Since that is the case we have a much harder job influencing or persuading students to accept new learning. Even with access to the information students still need teachers. Pink states "Having access to all of the information doesn't give you an advantage. Being able to synthesize the information gives you the advantage."
We need to change our perspective and begin to see things from other's point of view. Teachers need to be more empathetic to students and their needs in order to influence them to move their learning.
We need to use influence as a catalyst for change and understand that the areana that we are working in is much different then it has been.
More to come as I continue to process this information.
image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5446696316/sizes/m/
This is such a paradigm shift for the teacher---it will require us to entirely rethink what we do in this profession and especially how we train teacher in their role. I think most folks have known for a long time that we don't have the "control" over students that we once had (if we ever had it at all). We have to reconsider what we need to do as educators!
ReplyDeleteEmily you're right it is a paradigm shift for teachers. But it's time for teachers to begin to embrace the changes that are happening with our students today. There is a lot of work that needs to be done at the college level to prepare new teachers for the world they are entering. School districts also have are a responsibility to provide good quality PD for teachers to help them prepare to work in a world that is constantly changing.
DeleteEducation and students has been changing for awhile now. We just haven't adapted to the changes. Things have gotten away from us and now we have to play a little catch up. Is it easy? No. Can it be done? I think so.
I so agree, Emily. Just the fact that students have so much access is rocking the world of the teacher. What is around many teachers still looks and feels the sameas always, with the exception of one to one computing. For some time we have been asking teachers to change their comfort zone. For many that is like opening a door to fresh air and they are flying in no time. It doesn't seem to be happening for most. I am fond of Pink and his thinking. I hope as you process, Chuck, you can share some common sense stategies to push this change along from Pink. We get why, we need more how!
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