Educational+Vision

There is a problem in American schools today. Students recieve information all day at a the rate of megabytes per minute. They are plugged in. Cell phones, text messaging, ipods, iphones, computers, dvd players, cable, internet, downloading, uploading, social networking, videogames etc.. all make for a brave new world that even people in their 20s haven't really experienced. The limitation to their input in the class room is often the teacher. Teachers can only convey information at the rate of kilobytes per hour. For many of these kids it's like getting stuck in a Dodge Viper behind grandma on a unicycle on the highway. Standard high school lectures just can't cut it with these kids. We just can't talk fast enough or get enough info out to keep the brains of these kids occupied.

There is another problem that comes with the standard lecture model. It's meant to seek out individual achievement. Whoever listens to the lecture hardest, retains the most, and regurgitates it the best on the test wins. While elements of that approach are still important the world doesn't operate that way to the same extent it used to. In business, academics, or government positions no one is an isand unto themselves. Collaborative works like the Genome Project are the future and teaching models need to address, assess, and promote collaborative work in order to stay relevant to this generation's needs.

Finally, the internet is paving the future. Businesses report increasingly large portions of their revenue that are derived from internet transactions. Government agencies and officials are posting information and updates online. School recruitment and scholastic journal articles are increasingly if not solely web based. The new class room needs to expose students to the internet, train them on aspects of its use, and prepare them for a future based more heavily on www technology.

In all, the classroom that fits the future needs of these students has got to be flexible, interactive, explorative, collaborative, and tech savvy. While in no way can individual achievement be forgotten, its place at the forefront is no longer practical. Students can't just sit there for a lecture for a class period anymore. They start twitching, banging on the table with their fingers, talking in the back, or texting messages on phones they snuck in. I want to see my students engaged in their work. I want to see students with furled brows and perplexed looks. I want to see them struggling because it means they are participating. I want to see them working at their desk, book in one hand, computer in the other, speaking the language of science (and more particuallarly chemistry) with their peers, and creating a new way to explore chemistry.

Now I mentioned it briefly, but I want to emphasize that science and in this case chemistry is a language. We're going to talk about kilograms, elements, molecules, oxidation states, crystal lattices, molar mass, orbitals, etc... people can participate in these discussions only if they first understand the vocabulary used. To then convey information to others they need to have a mastery not only of the subject but also the language used to describe science. I make my classes collaborative not only to meet the demands of my students future, but also to use the group dynamic as a way to become fluent in the science nomenclature.