Chapter 4 Reflection

This chapter really started to look at who is responsible for different roles in the classroom now that the way we are learning is changing.  In the past the teacher had the superior knowledge on everything and now we are getting to a point where in some cases the student may have more knowledge then the teacher does, especially regarding technology.  It is also important that parents still take an active role in their child’s learning and with technology this is made easier as parents can watch videos instead of reading papers.  The chapter also looks at how students can take a more active role in the creation of their assignments and defining the parameters instead of being told what to do.  This is useful for those students that do not like school or have not achieved in the past with a standard classroom format.  Using technology and a medium that they understand more will help spark interest in doing work.

It is so important in classrooms today that teachers learn to accept their new roles.  This could include relying on students at some point to help them with technology, they may not be the “instructor” for everything but may just act as a guide for the students, to encourage collaboration and creation of projects by the students.  For teachers that have taught for years, this may be difficult to accept.  I currently am not a teacher and so I can only assume that I will teach with this new mindset since I am learning in my classes this way.  From the observations I have seen, it will be difficult for teachers to make this change due to curriculum many times as well.  The curriculum may not be written to support this type of activity without adjustment by the teacher or the administration or parents may not support these changes.  I think it falls on the teacher to try and smooth this over between students, teachers, and parents so things flow smoothly in the classroom.