Blog #7 Initial Post
What does the way you play have to do with embracing change and how does this impact you as a professional?
This is a question that had never entered my mind...the way I play having an effect on my impact as a teacher? Well, I decided to do some investigating on this idea and found that gamers are happier and more successful as adults (Trunk, 2013). Well, a happier teacher would impact students in a positive way. Trunk (2013) also discovered that gamers are better at any occupation that is intellectual in nature (e.g. teaching) since gamers gather information and synthesize skills to become a better player and this skill building also makes one more specialized in their occupational field. I never really thought about it, but lecture-style of teaching is a passive method to dealing with students and has very little effect on learning, whereas active learning is a great method for teaching. So, I can only conclude that my lecturing has less of an effect on my student’s lives than having them play serious games. Hmmm, that is a little painful to accept, but it does make sense to me. So, in week #7, I am continuing to move from an “anti-gamer” in education to one who is open to using this method of learning in my own classroom...what an attitude change in a short period of time.
I guess, in the past when I heard the phrase “embrace change”, I defined it as whatever “comes down the pipe”, grab ahold of it, use it, and get on the bandwagon with everyone else. Problem is, if there is a bandwagon, my personality doesn’t want anything to do with it. But after reading chapter 3 of Thomas and Brown, I have a new idea of what is meant by “embracing change”. Thomas and Brown (2011) define embracing change as “looking forward to what will come next and viewing the future as a set of new possibilities” (p. 43). I can do that. This definitions does not force me to do the new-fangled ideas that are advertised as being the best way to educate. It allows me to look at all the possibilities out there and look at how they can help me be a better educator. One of these ways of change is the ever-challenging integration of play into the classroom. As I have played in the Alaska Wilderness, I have become an avid boater and backpacker. From this “play”, I have learned to integrate the outdoor skills I have learned into the classroom environment. Over the years the State of Alaska has seen my passion of educating students about the outdoors by giving me grants for over $20,000 to train students to enjoy the wilderness safely. I guess that this was a great example as to how my “play” has impacted me as a professional. This being the case, I can only assume that my “play” with technology may also help me as an educator.
Probably the most influential resource that got my head “out of the sand” (notice I love to use idioms) was a blog by Chris Rogers. He said, “There are many from the 1400s and 1500s that refused to adopt new methods and navigational tools. I am sure many of these guys were great sailors, but their names are not written in any history books” (2013). I don’t think it’s being arrogant, but I would really like to be remembered for something in my teaching career that made a difference in kid’s lives. I always tell my students to try new things, do the hard stuff, make stories with their lives by getting out of their comfort zones...but I don’t. So, what has this week’s reading done for me? It’s taken me across the line and helped me to embrace change as a professional.
Rogers, C. (2013, July 12). Embracing change: The key to improving technology integration in the classroom. (Blog Post). Retrieved from: http://elementarytechblog.wordpress.com/2013/07/12/embracing-change-the-key-to-improving-technology-integration-in-the-classroom/
Thomas, D., Brown, J. (2011). A new culture of learning. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Trunk, P. (2013). Kids who play video games do better as adults. Retrieved from http://education.penelopetrunk.com/2013/04/11/kids-who-play-video-games-do-better-as-adults/
I don't have anything to add, other than to say: "great post!"
ReplyDeleteGary, I always appreciate the timeliness in which you post. I really try to do the same but I struggle to get it done. It is very convenient to have a reliable blog to comment on. So thank-you!
ReplyDeleteI love how you pointed out how you play as a teacher and discuss being happy while you play. I think it is important to remember to have fun! Lately, there seems to be little emphasis on this, unless of course you are Dave Burgess. Over the past year, it seems like more workshops and paperwork and less teaching.