Shenk puts forth that finding “one great teacher” (127) can have a profound
impact on one’s life. Shenk finishes his ideas of chapter seven by stating that
“the true road to success lies not in a person’s molecular structure, but in
his developing the most productive attitudes and identifying magnificent
external resources” (127). Shenk means to say that knowledge is not embedded in
one’s cellular build-up; it is shared and passed down. On top of this is the implication that
studying and losing connection with the world is less beneficial than learning
while developing a sense of productivity with a teacher. How can you assert the
effectiveness of a teacher or mentor? Can someone with the knowledge or a skill,
like Mozart, be able to mentor a pupil to a point of equality in skill? Relate
your answer to a biological theme and two different sections in Campbell-- one referring to communication between organisms and one of your choice.
Jesse Pukshansky (jesse.pukshansky@gmail.com)
Primarily, I believe that it is near impossible to gauge the effectiveness of a teacher or a mentor because there are too many factors that go into creating the standards as a whole and on an individualistic level. I turn to American Progress, where they discuss improving public education in America, and they quote, “the nation still lacks a practical set of standards and assessments that can guarantee that teachers, particularly new teachers, are well prepared and ready to teach” (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/10/teacher_effectiveness.html). Years upon years have been spent on a variety of methods and reforms to improve schools, however, as the article states, “the teachers are the fulcrum determining whether any school initiative tips toward success or failure” (http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/10/teacher_effectiveness.html).
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do believe that a mentor with the knowledge or skill of the likes of Mozart can assist their pupil to a similar level of knowledge and skill. Repeatedly throughout time, the message usually put on the backburner for mentors is that if your pupil ends up surpassing your skill level, that means you have been successful as a mentor. However true or untrue that may be, I don’t believe that same motto can be applicable to education through a teacher for academics.
This organism-to-organism learning is something we learned over the summer, during the Ecology unit. The active learning that animals do to survive is crucial to their natural selection and ability to reproduce and continue the growth of their respective species. Like humans, all other animals have various ways they can learn information, found in Chapter 51 Section 2. First, there is associative learning, where two environmental features can be connected to each other. There is then classical conditioning, where some regular stimulus can be associated with a specific result. Operant conditioning on the other hand, is the “trial-and-error learning”, where animals learn to connect a specific action to a reward or punishment (1127, Campbell Book). The final method of learning is cognition, “the process of knowing represented by awareness, reasoning, recollection, and judgment” (1128, Campbell Book).
These four methods of learning are not only applied to animals, but also to us humans. In a combination of all four, I believe that it is possible to tailor the learning experience for each pupil to make teaching and mentoring more effective. Each pupil will have their individual preference for one type of learning over another, just like some are more visual learners rather than just hearing information. If there can be some way of formulating the various types of learning into a standard that can be modified for each individual teacher and the majority of their students, then I believe it may be possible to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers.
Shivani Thakker (shivanithakker1357@gmail.com)
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteOne person can change the world, and each person also has the power to have a profound effect, for better or for worse, on each other person. Often times, teachers are in the position to create great change in the lives of their students by nature of communication with that student. Studies, such as one conducted by Harvard, have shown the impact that a single teacher can have on a student. In one study, change in test scores was converted to change in expected cumulative income, and truly exemplary teachers had the potential to increase the lifetime income by $50,000 (http://obs.rc.fas.harvard.edu/chetty/value_added.html). Some prodigious children (often praised for technical skill), have teachers whose “teaching styles” are not as compatible with the way that they are used to learning (GxE interaction can lead children to develop different learning styles during infancy: some children want to know what something is, others preferring to know why). The idea of mentorship relates to the biology theme of interdependence in nature. The way a student learns from a mentor can be based off of previous environmental exposure, and the way that a teacher conducts a classroom (or more generally the classroom environment) relates to specific individuals in the class who interact with each other’s learning. Students modify behavior based off of a teacher’s actions, which can be seen sometimes as a form of associative learning. The relationship between a student and a teacher needs social learning, what Campbell defines as “learning through observing others”, to be a two-way process. Even the most skilled students may not have the necessary skills to be a teacher because teachers need to effectively communicate to all students and determine what methods, such as open ended problem solving or self-guided associative learning, is best for the students.
ReplyDelete-Kyle Mueting (kylemueting@comast.net)
I completely agree with Shenk regarding the importance of a great teacher. Teachers are instrumental in the educational process, largely because students spend so much time with them. The LA Times cites, “An American who graduates from high school has been taught by more than 20 teachers and has spent more than 10,000 hours in their company”. Teachers are important for reasons. Students benefit from teachers because teachers are special in that they are experts in a field, create an environment for learning, ask challenging questions, and are clear in their methods. (Whitman College). Due to these multitude of factors determining the effectiveness of a teacher, I think it’s impossible to measure quantitatively the effectiveness of a teacher.
ReplyDeleteAnother factor to keep in mind is the student. The teacher may have great teaching qualities and abilities, but if the student is unmotivated or uninterested, it will be a waste. As a popular adage goes, “You can take a horse to the pond, but you can’t make it drink”. The teacher only can take the student to the pond, but if the student doesn’t respond, the teacher’s skills are useless. There won’t be anything to measure, if the student doesn’t respond. This relates to interdependence in nature. The student is dependent on the teacher, since the teacher is essential to a student's success.
Mozart, or anyone of his skill, will be able to teach younger children his art - provided he fulfills the qualities of a good teacher as mentioned above. Again, his teaching ability will be useless if the student doesn’t possess the interest, motivation or aptitude to learn.
Learning occurs across species through various forms. Learning teaches specific behaviors to organisms that is a selective advantage, which enhances their ability to survive and reproduce. For example, animals learn through imprinting, spatial learning, cognitive association, associative learning, classical and operant conditioning. All these different types of learning teach animals specific behaviors - like basic protection mechanisms, foraging techniques, recognition, stimulus response (Campbell 1126).
http://www.whitman.edu/president/cronin/articles/threecheers.cfm
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/03/opinion/la-oe-straight-teaching-20110403
Rohan Dasika (rohandasika@gmail.com)
To address your comment, Rohan, I completely agree with you and David Shenk. A great teacher is an essential part of anyone’s educational process, and this importance is amplified especially when teaching children since they are so impressionable.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to Jesse’s prompt, I believe that the effectiveness of a mentor or teacher cannot be based merely on their academic credentials, but on their social skills and dedication to their work.
A braniac teacher who has multiple doctorates is no use to anyone if they cannot pass their knowledge on effectively to their students. Although students usually fare decently even if their teacher doesn’t care about teaching them, in my opinion they have wasted the potential of their students and put them at a disadvantage compared to all the other students who are learning more than they are. Referring back to the Campbell textbook, both culture and survival skills are taught by parents to children when they aid in their child’s associative learning (1127). In the same way culture and survival skills are transferred from parent to offspring in nature, a teacher must do the same thing. According to the theme of evolution in biology, offspring with parents who excel at hunting or foraging but get no teaching are at a selective disadvantage when they must face the world alone. Most likely they will not survive long enough to reproduce. Therefore, in order for a teacher’s “offspring” to be successful in the world, communication skills are key.
Teachers are people children look up to. The reason parents are biology’s natural teachers is because they care about their offspring (if only to propagate their own DNA) and their well being. I believe that just like how children look up to their parents, they look up to their teachers. In the same way that teachers are role models to children, I believe some teachers think of their students as their adopted progeny as well. These are the teachers that truly excel in their fields because they are extremely dedicated to their students and genuinely want the best for them and will make sacrifices not for monetary gain but for the satisfaction of providing the best for their students.
As a final caviat I’d like to distinguish between the “good teacher” and the “fun teacher.” There’s always been a stigma against the “good” teachers who is less qualified than a “smart” teacher because they believe that a “good” teacher, no matter the skill at communication, will never teach as accurately or intellectually as a “smart” teacher. However I believe that the opposite is true. Going back to my previous point, because these “good” teachers are so dedicated, I would argue that they teach more reliably than any old doctorate-waving professor can because they worry about giving their students wrong information, so they make an extra effort to clear up confusion. The smart-alec teacher who is only teaching for the title probably couldn’t care less what errors they made grading your paper.
(Tina Ding: yuning.tina.ding@gmail.com)
(http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/education/big-study-links-good-teachers-to-lasting-gain.html?pagewanted=all)