Daily+Question,+May+7,+Scott+Barnes


 * How are students different today than 10, 20, 50 years ago?**

It would be ignorant to say that modern students are more curious or demanding than those of days past; today's student is no more a philosopher or sophiavore than Beaver Cleaver. The primary difference which I perceive in the North American student of today is the level of independence and maturity demanded of modern learners. Fifty Years ago it was the ideal that a young student ought to be able to go to school without needing to work, and also that they would be able to get most answers to class work from their parents. As time marched forward, the students were kicked along with the era, and demands of financial self sufficiency were imposed, and intellectual demands that could not be met by parents cropped up.

This is not to say that economically or socially disadvantaged students did not exist in the past, but today it is the norm that students are economically productive and responsible for their own access to knowledge.

Memorial Erosion is a serious problem today - in the era of Google students actually become process based learners, not content collectors.

School as Theater has changed student behavior and expectations - students come to class to more to watch, less than participate; also, students look to teachers as primary references, but not absolute references. Students are likely to check up on their teachers on Google or Wikipedia.


 * What difference does that make to teaching and learning?**

First, a teacher must recognize that students can access every grain of data in that teachers head online. What a teachers knows about a subject - on its own - is almost worthless. A teacher is a facilitator today, whose proficiency is anchored in their ability to guide learners. A knowledgeable lecture will be lost on most students; a knowledgeable lecturer who makes the information they posses accessible is a sort of golden calf. Also, a teacher must be aware that anytime they counterfeit authority, they will most likely be called out on it. If a teacher says 'this is the way it is', they better expect a few of the students to check their sources and double check their facts...


 * Discussion

Does it matter that student's cannot spell and remember as well? It matters when it matters! Erosion of memory and loss of spelling and poorness of penmanship matter when instant recall and clarity are critical. Teachers are now Facilitators, and need to be able to admit when they do not know the answer

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