Brave New Schools - Chapter 5 Reflection

The three orientations of pedagogy discussed in chapter five of Brave New Schools brought me back to my experiences as undergraduate student. To me, it seems that authors always present traditional pedagogy as boring and focused on lecturing. This chapter continues to describe this orientation of pedagogy as instructional based and straightforward. When looking back on my educational experiences as a student, I feel that once I reached a certain age (probably somewhere in middle school), teachers began using a traditional approach more often. My elementary school experiences focused more on hands-on, interactive lessons that I still remember to this day. This type of instruction seems to fit into the progressive approach, where student inquiry was central to student growth. The transformative approach to pedagogy seems to be above and beyond the type of learning that I experienced. However, when looking back at my experiences overall, I feel that I may have experienced a bit of each of these pedagogical approaches at one point or another.
When reading about the traditional approach, I couldn’t help but think about my geometry class in high school. My teacher required students to memorize all of the theorems of geometry and recite them in front of the class. To further make this experience worse, he would ask that all students stand up and recite theorems that he asked us to state. If we stated the theorem correctly, we were able to sit down. If we were wrong, we continued to stand. The last student standing was not only embarrassed, but also was assigned the task of writing the theorem twenty-five times. As I look back on this traditional approach to teaching, and the central importance of memorization, I do not recall the information that I learned. However, an experience that I do remember was back in elementary school when I participated in an Invention Convention and learned the Scientific Method by asking a question and trying to answer/solve the problem by inventing an item to help. The Scientific Method seems forever embedded in my mind because of the way I was allowed to explore a topic of my choice, while following guidelines that were provided. This progressive, and maybe even transformative, learning focused on problem solving and cooperative learning. The learning became meaningful, and therefore is better remembered by students.
When considering such approaches relation to teaching students about cultures and the world, it seems only best to do so in a transformative approach. Instead of simply teaching students about other cultures of the world and telling them about the traditions and values of such countries, teachers should allow students to explore and learn in a guided environment. Internet tools such as E-Pals can help students to connect with classrooms in other countries and learn about personal experiences of students in other areas of the state, country, or even world. By providing students with a personal connection to the different culture, they can better understand and grasp the content about which they are learning.
It is very confusing to me that in this country, we continue to have Black History Month during February. Instead of black history being incorporated into the curriculum throughout the year, it is still necessary to teach this subject in a separate way. To me, black history is not separated from the rest of our history, yet it adds to what made U.S. history what it is. By incorporating black history with the rest of the curriculum, students can begin to cross cultural boundaries and develop a sense of appreciation for cultures of others.
The author states, “Intercultural learning must start with teachers themselves. By encouraging students to talk and write about their experiences, teachers will begin to appreciate the cultural knowledge into the curriculum with provide students with opportunities to learn from each other and to develop a critical appreciation of their own culture and that of their peers” (p. 159). This statement encompasses exactly what I do with my students in my classroom. One of my students is Orthodox Jewish and because he is the only one, his family volunteers to come in and teach about the traditions and the celebrations that they do for their holidays. I think that by learning from an individual who celebrates the holidays, my students are genuinely interested and develop an understanding of a culture that differs from their own.
Helping students to learn about different cultures requires that the teachers approach teaching in progressive or transformative ways. Students should become engaged in their learning and contribute their own experiences and background knowledge to discussions in the classroom. Teachers can act as facilitators and integrate different disciplines in order to effectively teach students about different cultures of the world.
Annotated Reviews
PBS Teachers. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/
A website that allows teachers from all over the world to exchange ideas regarding digital technology use in the classroom. In order to access all of the materials on the website, one must register and create a membership. I really like the site and think that the way it is organized—by grade level and subject area—is very user friendly.

Global Virtual Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.virtualclassroom.org/
This site is a collection of free resources for both students and teachers to use. The purpose of the Global Virtual Classroom is to promote the connection of students from different countries through the use of the Internet. The site is very useful and provides teachers with helpful tips in order to effectively collaborate with other teachers.

OneWorld Classrooms. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.ccph.com/
This is a website that provides Internet users with a wide array of different programs that are available to help promote global communication between classrooms. The list of available programs links to a site where you can sign up and register in order to become a part of the specific program. The programs listed are very useful and can help teachers find a program that promotes global communication within classrooms.