Higher Education Teaching and Learning

It is a myth that we operate under a set of oppressive bureaucratic constraints. In reality, teachers have a great deal of autonomy in the work they chose to do in their classrooms. In most cases it is our culture that provides the constraints. For individual teachers, trying out new practices and pedagogy is risky business and both our culture, and our reliance on hierarchy, provide the ideal barriers for change not to occur. As Pogo pointed out long ago, “we have met the enemy and it is us.” http://www.cea-ace.ca/blog/brian-harrison/2013/09/5/stop-asking-permission-change

Educational psychology has focused on the concepts of learned helplessness and more currently growth-fixed mindsets as a way to explain how and why students give up in the classroom setting.  These ideas can also be applied to educators in this day of forced standardization, testing, scripted curriculum, and school initiatives.

Learn more:

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Growth+Mindset

https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2015/03/15/professional-development-why-educators-and-teachers-cant-catch-up-that-quickly-and-how-to-change-it/

https://gustmees.wordpress.com/2015/03/28/learning-to-learn-for-my-professional-development-i-did-it-my-way/

A serious problem that must be solve..

Teacher Agency:  Educators Moving from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset | @scoopit via @knolinfos http://sco.lt/...

añada su visión ...¡Cómo aprender a enseñar lo que se sabe eficazmente¡¡

añada su visión ...

I chose this resource because I was interested in seeing what the identified "core skills" that characterize an effective teacher are. I totally agree that "how to teach" is a skill and not necessarily a skill that is intuitive or easily learned. It must be taught intentionally to practitioners. Those directing the teacher education program identified 19 core skills that a novice teacher must have. Not surprisingly, many of these traits like "reflective practice" and designing an appropriate learning sequence are generic. I especially like the idea that we must interpret student thinking. Too often, when a teacher sees a struggling student they advise them of the "right way" to answer a question or solve a problem. But understanding a student's flawed thought process is valuable and it allows a teacher to attend to root problems that will hinder future learning.