Prensky, M. (2011). Partnering: A
pedagogy for the new educational landscape. In Schrum, L. (Ed.), The best of
Corwin: Educational technology for school leaders (3-23). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Summary
Prensky redefines classroom roles in this chapter,
encouraging partnering to learn,
rather than direct instruction. Students
in school today do not learn and interact with the world as previous generations;
we cannot teach them the same way we ourselves were taught. These students are accustomed to using
technology to find information quickly and on the move, they do not have the
patience to sit still and absorb what we impart.
Thus, we must reconsider the roles of students and
teachers in the classroom. Partnering teachers pose questions and
establish parameters, guiding students toward finding and integrating
information. Partnering students are researchers, making use of technology to
self-teach and create, often changing the world around them. Teachers and students are not the only
members of such a partnership; administrators and parents must also understand
and support such partnering measures.
Reflection
A little over a week ago, I listened to Mark Morvant talk
about this very subject. In many ways, his
presentation was like watching a prophecy manifest. Several years ago, I (by chance) observed a
class discussion on the purpose of education.
The instructor reviewed benchmarks in technology and teacher responses
from Ancient Greece projected into the far future. Like our chapter and Dr. Morvant’s talk, his
message was to avoid obsolescence education must be about teaching creativity
rather than dissemination of information.
I agree that both parents and administrators play just as important of a role as teachers and students to take place in partnering. In order for partnering to be completely practiced, everyone must be involved by taking enough time out to understand how important it is in today's world. Parents, although from a different generation, must realize that technology is playing a crucial role in educating their children today and in the future.
ReplyDeleteRenee you are very right. Parents and administrators can inspire or kill creativity in the classroom, no matter what format it takes.
DeleteThis often reminds me of Jean Anyon's research on school climate in different SES regions. I wonder if integrating technology and partnering into low and extremely high SES schools is/will be more difficult, given the expectations in each environment.