Second Design Principle - The Ends Principle
Reading the saber tooth
curriculum made me reflect on the role of education. Here we had a story about
a tribe that had some needs and how through education they were able to improve
their practices and grow as a society but then chance came, and the tribe was
unable to update their education to fit their new reality. Our
role as teachers is to prepare students to be successful and active members of
society, to help individuals develop skills that will lead to the improvement
of current conditions as it first did for the saber tooth curriculum tribe.
However, while I understand this role, many questions came into my mind.
What are those critical skills that students need? What are the modern "fish-grabbing, horse-clubbing,
and tiger-scaring" elements? And how are we supposed to prepare our
students for a world we may not even know yet?
Fortunately, after the
second class discussion, I had an answer for these questions:
PICKLE! Problem-solving, information using, community participation,
knowledge, literacy, and ethical decision making. The 21st-century skills.
Designing lessons that develop those skills will lead to critical students
ready to "take on the world" however this world may look like. Based
on this, content becomes the means that will lead to the
PICKLE. Content is not the center of education is the way students will acquire
the necessary skills to be successful in current society and actually have an
impact on it.
As I read your entry, I wonder if the answer has always been PICKLE? The components of fishing, clubbing and scarring are the what but the how has always been PICKLE. I had the same conclusion that the answer is PICKLE. But I think it's been there all along.
ReplyDeleteEmily, I agree. It just takes a person (or people) to ignite that way of thinking and bring it to the forefront. I think we have to highlight the elements of the PICKLE in our teaching practices, regardless of whether it's been the answer all along, because putting problem solving, information USING, ethical decision making, etc... into action is what counts. Many times, you can have the right idea, but, if it's not utilized efficiently and effectively, it won't matter. We have to understand that, as Corey put it, "Designing lessons that develop those skills will lead to critical students ready to "take on the world".
ReplyDelete"Content is not the center of education is the way students will acquire the necessary skills to be successful in current society and actually have an impact on it." This type of learning gives students the tools to think. The world is changing quickly and we cannot foresee the what challenges our children will face. Teaching them through enculturation, thinking within the culture the problem occurs will build future problem solvers.
ReplyDeleteIt seems so obvious that through real-world connections and problem solving that we can get our students invested and engaged in the standards and skills. Through this type of instruction, standards will serve as the tools not as an end result.
ReplyDelete"Content is not the center of education"- I think that this really connects well with the Third Design Principle. While content for content's sake is not the center of education, content does have a role to play as a tool. In the beginning, I struggled to see exactly how all of the pieces of the educational puzzle fit together. As we are introduced to that new thinking, and the different design principles, how we can make good designs for our classrooms comes into focus. Hopefully, the design principles will allow our thinking to evolve as the needs of society evolve.
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