The teacher is not the most important factor when it comes to learning — from theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.ch by Lisa Nielsen
Excerpt:
From DSC:
There are some solid, insightful comments here — especially when one agrees with Daniel Willingham that “memory is the residue of thought” (i.e., we remember what we think about.)
Regular readers of this blog will know that I’m a big fan of providing students with “more choice, more control.” Giving students more choice so that they can pursue items of interest to them will likely invite deeper levels of thought and ultimately better, more lasting learning. That said, I realize that some base layers of knowledge need to be built. I’d just like to see us really question when we can begin turning over more choice, more control to the students. I would like us to apply more scrutiny and justification for the courses/subjects that we require. Do most students really need to take this course? Why? And are there other courses that students might like to take in light of the workplace that they will be dealing with?
Finally, I’d vote for including a new ingredient of how we assess our own courses; and that is, “Did the students enjoy their learning? Were they engaged in the learning?” Why do I say this? Because we all need to be lifelong learners now. It’s easier to do that if we like to learn and have a positive perspective on it.
