We had a great discussion with Jeff today that began with the Xu Bing (who, incidentally, does a lot of amazing things playing with language and meaning in his art) text (there I go again with "text"--although it's pretty appropriate here, I think) and ended up tying in the readings about gaming. Some of the highlights of that discussion for me were:
-What Mindy said about "developing a tolerance for ambiguity." Yes! That really resonated with me as a world language student *and* future teacher of world languages. But I think it's a sentiment that could apply across disciplines. Couldn't it connect a bit with what Dan Meyer says about "being less helpful"? Get kids used to the feeling of not having all the "formulas," of not playing "guess what's in the teacher's head" (as I recently read) and let them feel free to discover the answers, guided not just by the tools we are teaching them but by their own thinking and intuition...
Which connects with:
-What J said (or was he echoing B?--ah, yes, it was her idea about "safe" something-or-others (it's late, I'm tired and my brain functioning is diminishing!--but it was a gaming term I think)...but the idea that intrigued me was the idea that games are these safe spaces for kids to fail and how (as Gee was asking) can we make SCHOOLS safe spaces for kids to fail?
The session with K was daunting and I ended up getting a little overwhelmed at the end but I did do it, and it was fun, and I look forward to working more with podcasts and getting more familiar with them.
I'm already thinking about the This I Believe assignment and starting to think about, well, what DO I believe? In some ways it seems like we just started the program, what convictions could I possibly have at this point? In other ways, however, we've been eating sleeping drinking breathing this program for the past five weeks and I know that I am developing ideas, beliefs, intuitions and curiosities about a great number of things! Reflecting on those things and being able to articulate them will be a really great exercise, I think.
I agree that a tolerance for ambiguity is very important, even though I was a student who wanted rules (it's really not surprising that I found German grammar to be so appealing). From my experience, teens want to see their world as full of hard and fast rules, because ambiguity is scary and they're changing so much already. So how do you introduce ambiguity at the right pace, to help students become more flexible without pushing them too far out of their comfort zones?
ReplyDeleteI'm also mulling over the This I Believe assignment. We've had a lot of information thrown at us, and now we need to sort it out and see what resonates with us. Kind of like cleaning out a closet and seeing what clothes we should keep.
I agree with you and Mindy about how a "tolerance for ambiguity" is important in world languages. Not only do we have to help students be ok with not understanding every single thing right away, but it's really fun (and rewarding) to see kids start to figure things out on their own. I think encouraging this in world language classrooms is important - it's more about teaching your kids how to problems solve and think critically about the world around them than to give them all the answers and hope they remember them.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about creating a podcast- a little overwhelming, but such a rewarding experience! And I'm also looking forward to the "This I Believe" assignment. I have so many different thoughts bouncing around my head, so it will be nice to get them all out there. Although with only 2-3 minutes, I better be concise. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I was so stressed out during the podcasting, too! It took me forever to figure out how to work that aviary thing--and didn't they say it's EASIER than the program they used last year? But of course, at the end of the day I was so glad we did that to prepare for our "This I Believe" assignment, or I would have been lost without the comfort of knowing Kristin was right there to help. I'm also still trying to formulate what exactly I believe about technology in the classroom. I can, at least, say that I'm definitely not as doubtful as I was 2 weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteI loved the connection that you made between some of what Gee was writing about, and the ideas that you heard from Dan Meyer, Diane. I worry that, for all kinds of reasons, we as teachers get very uncomfortable with spaces of uncertainty, with true problem spaces. I think that this discomfort has to do with some of our institutional tensions around ideas like efficiency and even our larger goals for what ideally should happen in schools. At the core of the matter, though, is the question you echo from Gee: how can we make SCHOOLS safe spaces for kids to fail? This is the kind of question that will sustain you for a career, Diane.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate what you (and Brianne, and Caitlin..) had to say about the "This I Believe" assignment, and the way that it feels a bit (my words) premature. I think it's true. I also think that the effort to, as Brianne puts it, "clean out the closet" is one of those things for which the reward will come later, as you map your experiences onto the "ideals vs lived experience" question, and try to keep reminding yourself about why you chose this path in the first place.