Back
in the days before the Internet, curious scholars who wanted to learn from a
wise expert enrolled in classes to listen to lecturers pontificate about their
areas of knowledge. I have fond memories of many of my college professors (and
some of my high school teachers) regaling (mostly) eager students with
lectures while we furiously took notes to capture as many brilliant ideas as we
could.
In
today’s world, we can find lectures in many places. A simple Google search will
yield numerous videos, podcasts, and presentations on nearly any topic
featuring eminent scholars from around the globe. Students can now receive a
better-than-average traditional education for free with only a smartphone and a
pair of earbuds.
It
would be vain for any of us to believe that our lecturing abilities surpass
those of everyone who has ever made a TED Talk or YouTube video, so if we are
relying on the one-way transmission of information during our classes as our
sole mode of instruction, we are replicating (probably less effectively) an
experience students can get elsewhere. Similarly, if we spend class time
showing videos or movies, we are asking students to come to school to do
something they could do just as effectively at home without having to change
out of their jammies.
The
advent of learning management systems, such as Google Classroom, and the trend
toward 1-to-1 access to technology have made it all too easy for instructors to
post an assignment and sit back while the students work quietly on it on their
Chromebooks, laptops, or tablets. In many cases, these online assignments are
the electronic equivalent of worksheets, with students filling in blanks and
boxes as they answer teacher-created questions or complete online charts and
tables. Many students come to school and spend most of their day sitting
silently in front of screens, providing the information asked for, with little
to no interaction with their instructor or peers. It’s really no different than
if they had stayed at home taking an online course, except, of course, they had
to put on clothes to come to school.
If
physical schools and colleges are going to remain viable in the present and
future, they must provide an education that is different and better from what
students can receive at home online. Real school has to be different from
e-school.* There has to be substantial value in making the effort to get
dressed and come to class beyond just hanging out with friends in the halls and
cafeteria.
Additionally,
if teachers want to remain in actual classrooms with students and to push back
on politicians who try to increase class sizes, we have to show that our
physical presence in proximity to our learners makes a difference. We can’t
follow the example of “Ditto,” the character from the 1984 movie Teachers,
whose students are so accustomed to filling in worksheets without any
interaction that no one notices the teacher has dropped dead at his desk until
they run out of mimeographed worksheets to complete. We must put into
practice the things that distinguish live instruction from e-learning.
One
benefit to being a student in a classroom with an actual, living teacher is the
opportunity to receive live, in-person, in-the-moment verbal feedback from the
instructor. We know that the most effective feedback is the kind that occurs
when learners actually need it, at the point when they can improve what they
are working on. Telling students what they should have done after the
fact doesn’t have the same impact as coaching students along the way. As
students are reading, writing, or creating, teachers could hold quick check-in
conferences with individuals or small groups to clear up confusion, redirect
those who are heading off track, offer suggestions for growth, ask questions to
promote self-reflection, or nudge students to the next level.
The
teacher isn’t the only source of valuable feedback in a face-to-face classroom.
Some of the most transformative feedback comes from peers. When we teach
students to give and receive feedback from one another, everyone becomes more
skilled and accomplished. Establishing structures and procedures for providing
feedback in class on one another’s work is a worthwhile step toward making the
most of the learning options available in traditional classroom settings.
Differentiation
is another opportunity that is seized more easily in an in-person teaching
situation. A savvy teacher figures out where each student is and offers next
steps that are responsive to each student’s needs. If we are marching all our
students in unison through a one-size-fits-all series of experiences, we are
missing out on the opportunity to grow all our students to their fullest
capacity. Teachers who make the biggest differences with students have a
sequence of clear goals in mind and are able to put each student at the right
point on the continuum to move them closer to the target. They also have an
idea of how to challenge at a deeper level any student who has reached mastery.
Perhaps
the most significant bonus of coming to school and learning in classrooms is
the chance to have conversations in real time about what we are learning. The
art of verbal discourse is limping along in our emoji-driven society. When the
only communication students have with other humans is through Snapchat pics and
abbreviated text messages, they don’t get better at speaking. Yet those who can
effectively express themselves verbally get what they want in life. What better
place is there to practice speaking than in a classroom where there are others
with whom to converse and a teacher to offer feedback for improvement?
Classroom conversations—whether in informal pair-share situations, structured
discussions (such as Socratic Seminars or Philosophical Chairs debates),
collaborative study groups, or small work groups—bring the learning to life.
Students aren’t just sitting there slack-jawed in front of screens; they are
engaged with one another, defending positions, trying out new ideas, clarifying
their thinking, and questioning themselves and each other. This is where the learning
happens. This is when the effort of coming to class becomes worth it.
As
we plan for instruction, it’s not a bad idea to look critically at how we are
teaching. If every day of class involves something students could do just as
effectively at home in isolation, it’s time to change it up. We need to rethink
the role of the teacher and the role of the student in schools. When we see the
teacher as a valuable source of feedback, individualized coaching, and
inspiration and the students as active participants in a community of learners,
school will once again become something worth putting on clothes for.
* I mean no disparagement to those who are doing important work
developing online courses and electronic learning experiences for students.
There’s a growing demand for e-school classes, and I’m impressed by the efforts
to make online learning increasingly interactive, open-ended, and responsive to
student needs. I wonder whether the demand for e-school classes is partly due
to the fact that so many traditional schools are still teaching like it’s 1985.
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