My philosophy of learning is that learning is as much about personal growth as it is about academic growth. Learning allows people to become well rounded individuals. It opens their eyes and mind to other opinions, ideas and information which allows them to see the world more completely and from other perspectives. I believe every man, woman and child has the ability, right and duty to learn throughout their entire lives in whatever capacity appropriate. I believe the aim for education and learning should be to promote positive personal and academic growth and that every child regardless of disability, culture, race, etc. should be constantly challenged to reach a new and higher level of learning appropriate for his or her personal situation.
I believe it is the responsibility of the teacher to use a variety of instructional strategies and assistive technology to promote the best opportunity for each student to learn. . The teacher is the guide and it is his or her job to captivate the audience and bring about the most academic and personal growth possible during the school year that will carry with them throughout the students’ lives. Understanding and keeping up-to-date on the latest innovations in technology is part of this responsibility. I believe technology in general should be used as an aid in the classroom to supplement the students’ learning and captivate them in new and exciting ways. Technology should also be used as a tool to engage students to actively participate in their learning; allowing them to take more away from the classroom and, hopefully, retain more content long term.
Kelly, I absolutely agree with you that education is about personal as well as academic growth. I also like what you wrote about technology being used as a tool to actively engage students. It seems like you advocate for meaningful use of technology, instead of just using technology for the sake of using it (which is great!). I am curious as to your thoughts about how or if technology can help students to grow personally.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement teachers need to use a variety of instructional strategies (direct instruction, group work, etc.) I think by providing students with activities and projects using technology will enhance students participation in their learning. What are some ways you incorporate or would like to incorporate technology in your classroom?
ReplyDelete@melissavan There are several different technologies, such as communication boards, switches and other assistive technologies that allow students with disabilities to actively participate in the classroom and help them to access the content in the general education classroom. These technologies help them to grow personally, as well as academically, because they help the students communicate, socialize and be active members of the school community. They also help to teach the students about self-advocacy, self-efficacy and independence, all characteristics which provide the tools to grow personally. This is obviously a SPED example, but I also think technology in general has the potential to teach all students independence and self-efficacy if used in the right way!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your last comment re: technology, even those traditionally understood as "assistive technologies" benefiting all students -- this is the general idea behind "universal design" I think. Your SPED examples are generally applicable.
ReplyDeletejd