My negative sound bites have been much louder these past few weeks as there are so many suggestions and articles to read on what is the best way to teach this content online. I’m overwhelmed with all the resources. I totally have paralysis by analysis.
I’m a millennial who despises online learning…probably only one in a million, but none the less…here I am. I know what you’re thinking, not a good place to be in this timeframe…but there is just something to live in person lectures, discussions, activities…they all just work.
How can we know students are thinking critically? Assessment, but it has to be the right kind of assessment. I know what you are thinking…we do that all the time. We assess with exams, quizzes, and practical exams throughout the semester, which are good ways to measure how much knowledge students are gaining. Still, most multiple-choice examinations can’t differentiate between following rules and thinking critically. So, back to my question, how do we know students are reasoning?
How do we balance teaching with coddling? When do we cross that line, and how do we avoid crossing it? Do you ever feel caught in a debate and can’t decide how to move? From a student perspective, I can see how you expect to learn comes from how you have always learned. From a teaching perspective, I can see how students learn comes from how they have always learned. But those two assumptions aren’t typically the same assumption. Students now aren’t learning like they did before, so we as teachers need to begin to teach in ways we have never taught before.
