I found this weeks readings to be somewhat difficult to apply to my own field experience placement but it was still helpful. Some of the information in chapters 9 and 10 I found difficult to apply to my Kindergarten placement.
In chapter 8, Woolfolk addresses the creativity of students; my cooperating teachers are always allowing opportunities for the students to express their creativity. Everyday students are asked to draw visual representations since they can't write. One of the things that I notice one of my cooperating teachers doing is telling the students, "Do we have purple trees? Are their green people? etc." I'm not sure how I feel about those questions because I feel as though it stifles children's imagination. Woolfolk says, "Teachers are in an excellent position to encourage or discourage creativity through their acceptance or rejection of the unusual and imaginative (pg. 290)." Another point that Woolfolk makes is that teachers should also defer judgement. I love to see my students use their imagination and create; it allows me to see so much of each of their individual personalities. One of my students loves to tie in all of his drawings with Ninja Turtles. My students don't really experience transfer; right now they are at a period where teachers are trying to find out what each student already knows.
I definitely am a supporter of parts of Vgotsky's social constructivism mentioned in chapter 9. Students are very much shaped by their social interaction, cultural tools, and activity. Knowledge is both individually constructed and socially mediated. I believe that collaboration to understand different viewpoints is very important and something we need to teach our students. Our students need to know how to appropriately respond with one another. I recently had a conversation with one of my Kindergarten teachers and she said that she likes to encourage a lot of social interaction between her students. I went to a conference in May and one of the workshops aligned with Vgotsky's view of student centered learning. I believe that this is somewhat difficult in a Kindergarten classroom because these students are just beginning school so they need more guidance. But, my teachers do allow some ownership with the students. Now that most schools are equipped with technology my cooperating teachers allow the students to use the Smartboard; they put on an ABC game and are trying to teach the students how to head the game without the help of a teacher but with the help of one another.
I can see your point about your cooperating teacher perhaps stifling creativity through some of her questions. At the same time I think there is a fine line between encouraging creativity and teaching critical thinking. Teachers really have to do both. After all we do want students to think critically and logically about the world too, don't we? We want them to be creative, but we also want them to evaluate in terms of what could be real and what isn't.
ReplyDeleteI think at any level teachers can help encourage student-centered learning, even if it's just to offer a couple choices of activities. It's amazing how just having a choice like this can empower some students.
I think it's great that the teacher's allow their student's to be so creative! I can see where you're coming from with questioning the teacher asking questions about purple trees and green people, but I like to think she more trying to guide them to factual things and not restraining their creativity. We want to allow our students creative freedoms, but we don't want to disillusion them either.
ReplyDeleteIsn't technology such a great classroom tool? I love it! The students get to be interactive with each other and it peaks their interest. It's great to hear that your teacher's are embracing technology, even with students as young as Kindergarten.