Principles of Teaching and Learning

I am not quite sure what I was supposed to get out of reading the information on this site.  Under the "Learning Principles" tab, it listed seven main ideas that affect student learning.  The first touches on prior knowledge.  I think that saying something may hinder or help you is not helpful at all.  To me, the fact that prior knowledge works both ways for students is a "no duh" statement.  It's the equivalent of saying that kids come to PE class and if they know how to shoot a free throw with proper form, they will probably continue to improve, but if they don't shoot a free throw with the proper form, it will interfere with their ability to be consistently accurate.  For the most part, I think what the Learning Principles section says is all about human nature and how all people learn, not just students.  Even adults need to organize knowledge in a way that they can apply principles for learning, and motivation will determine their path.  Mastery requires practicing a skill and applying it properly.  I hope the author didn't actually think this was a revelation. Number seven was very profound - when students figure out how they learn best, they form habits that make them better learners.  When I learn something new or figure something out about myself or my teaching, I usually become more effective and better at what I am doing, too.

I relate to the "Teaching Principles" section of the web page most because I subscribe to the seven ideas, and I see plenty of teachers who do not.  As the document states, the principles are small but powerful, and they do make teaching more efficient and effective.  These principles require teachers to front load lessons, which is different than what most are comfortable doing.  Many times, teachers will lecture, have students take notes, then test.  The problem with this is that the work is back-loaded, and assessment does not come until the end of a unit.  Many times, a teacher will not revisit the parts of a lesson that many students may have not understood because the unit is over, and on to the next unit.  I design my units for health so that I give the students all the expectations and learning objectives they will need when we start the unit.  How the objectives are achieved is somewhat up to the individual students, thus allowing the student to find relevance in the topic.  For example, I may have a unit on media, technology, and health and the objective may be for students to analyze how technology influences and affects health.  I design a rubric that communicates the objective as well as the expectations.  Students can work in groups and decide how they will research the question and present it.  Some students design a wiki that has video clips, research articles, and personal reflections based on the research, some students plan a debate on the topic.  Either way, because I have done all of the work and then presented the goals and expectations, I can move into the role of facilitator to make sure students stay on task.  All students, regardless of method can arrive at the preset goal, but because they got to pick their "route", they created relevance for themselves, I am able to do ongoing assessment (mostly informal - I can see and hear what is going on, so I can re-direct at any time), and students go deeper with the learning because they got to lead themselves on the discovery.  The great thing about all of this is that I get to spend time with students, getting to know them better (because I am working with them rather than preaching at them- never underestimate the importance of rapport in teaching), and I know before the end of the unit what my students have learned.  Our students are so technology involved that teaching today does require examining what works and adapting to how students learn best in this time period.