Traditional Vers. Traditional Education : Traditional Vs. Progressive Teaching

It is my sincere hope that every student should look forward to coming into the classroom ready for new adventures and a whole new world of information every day. Education continually brings us new adventures just waiting for us to experience its wonder and possibilities. I believe that students, when presented with a wide variety of interesting lessons, can become interested and motivated in a way that they never have before.

Classrooms come in a variety of different shapes and sizes, and in each classroom, there is a unique structure that can enhance or hinder a student’s understanding of a new concept. Despite the wide variety of teaching methods, there is a clear goal in each classroom. Every instructor aims to teach students the required materials to successfully complete the course, in addition to meaningful life skills. However, lecture style classes do not accomplish anything aside from regurgitating information and showing off how knowledgeable a professor is on his topic. In fact, a recent study on active learning in stem fields showed that students in traditional lecture style classes are 1.5 times more likely to fail than students in active learning classrooms (random website thing). That is why, as an instructor, I am committed to make teaching a collaborative process to enhance my student’s mastery of the concepts and life skills, through a classroom structure that facilitates meaningful discourse on main ideas.

Creating lessons that students actually want to participate in is always considered at planning. While there are standards that must be taught and best practices for teaching these standards, engagement must also be addressed to complete the learning package. Silver and Perini believe that “if we do not design lessons and units that will strengthen students commitment to learn, then we cannot expect them to take an active or in-depth approach to learning” (2010). With this in mind, differentiating lessons according to students’ interest helps ensure that students are motivated and are able to gain deeper level understanding. When students are interested in what they are learning, they are able to bring passion to their work.

Change takes on the course of a gradual shift away from the traditional and into the modern. Such a process can take on the identity of many forms but in the end, they all contribute to the advancement of society. Throughout “Project Classroom Makeover,” Cathy Davidson explores the need for such change in America’s educational system as it lags years behind the modern standards. Technology serves as an impetus to change and reform this antiquated system through facilitating new means of learning not previously available. While technology does have its benefits in the classrooms, it cannot alone replace the interactions between students and teachers because there are limits to the extent computerization can recreate human connections.

Students have their own best way in effectively learning the lesson. With the diversity of students, the problem is each student has a preferred learning style. It becomes undeniably one of the reasons that make it difficult to achieve the best expected outcome out of teachers’ effort. However, teachers try to incorporate various teaching techniques to make every learning opportunity become productive, meaningful, and relevant for the learners.

This question should have an answer based not on what worked well in the past but on what is a relevant schooling experience today. The past can only inform, not determine the future of schooling. For more than 150 years a set of pedagogies reflecting the priorities of the Industrial Age has been embedded in the process of schooling. The hallmarks of these pedagogies are found in teacher controlled learning where deconstructed and reconstructed information is presented to same age cohorts of students in standardised classroom settings (Whitby, 2007).

“Don’t Lecture Me” noted that students who gain a mastery of subjects in traditional lecture format classes were typically those who were engaging with the material through outside research and reading. These people are self-directed learners. They are motivated and have the 21st century skills necessary to gain a deeper understanding. Educators need to seek a way to make these types of students the norm, rather than outliers. It is not surprising that lectured-based educational formats do not succeed – these class styles do not foster an opportunity for students to exercise and gain mastery the 21st century skillset. By devoting class time to activities like group discussion, brainstorming, collaboration professors will provide students with skills that can be used independently and in

Technological advances have greatly impacted student education. No longer are classrooms limited to a desk, teacher, and textbook. Brick and mortar isn’t even what is once was. On the contrary, the only one of these that may be left is the teacher. But, even the teacher of today is much different than that of a traditional teacher. Teachers have unlimited online resources and rarely use a textbook (if they even have one). Options to instruction do not just lie in the hands of the teacher, but also in the hands of the student, thus, allowing the opportunity for students to take ownership of their educations. Alternative learning settings provided by

The purpose of this speaker's message was simply to challenge us to think about the "how" students will acquire and demonstrate knowledge and consider "why" we choose certain modalities to learn content in our classrooms. The biggest immediate takeaway I have is to make sure that I am empowering my students to take ownership of their learning. What that looks like varies from class to class, but it is an important first step in ensuring my students are active learners and innovative

There are many students struggling in schools, but without an engaging and fun outlet that promotes learning, these students eventually stop going to class or end up failing, therefore, this poses a problem with the future of learning.

Society expects for students to be able to learn and comprehend any information that is being thrown out. Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their instructors to inspire, challenge, and

In the sixth grade math classroom, I was able to observe and be a part of a learning community that encouraged all the kids to take part in their education. On a daily basis, the teacher would encourage the student’s learning by facilitating lessons and activities that were structured towards developing the qualities of respect, communication, and collaboration in the classroom. “In all of this, the goal was to make the classroom environment a learning laboratory, an active workshop for discovery. I wanted to challenge the youngsters to pursue their work, their interests, and their knowledge” (Ayres, 70). She developed the curriculum and this learning environment by choice so that each individual student could have the chance to positively impact the classroom. Due to her valuing all of her student’s voices, she allowed each student to have an impact, and this is what created and continues to create the opportunity for students to have multiple ways to pursue their interests and to

This is apparent in EPFE 201 through the observation of growth seen in every students ability to juggle.Juggling in the class is a tool that can be used to prove that any person can be taught something, but until they have the true passion to exceed it is simply not feasible. The world in which we find ourselves in today has the battle of forcing people to do things or deciding that people have the responsibility to do something and it is a self-made choice if they wish to or not. Traditional education would advise that all students learn in one set way while progressive gives a plethora of opportunities to learn in most comfortable ways for students.

A progressive classroom looks different, and a progressive teacher inspires unique thinking in individual students differently, as well. Instead of being strict with a set curriculum and specific subject to cover, teachers find their students’ present interests, abilities, and needs. Developing individualized education plans based on student interests and

Throughout the majority of my education, including college, I have felt like a passive member of the classroom. Teachers saw me as a clear slate that needed to be filled with information. I consumed countless facts, and memorized numerous processes, most of them not being my own. This approach to teaching has proven to be unsuccessful to the goals of education. Students are diverse, with their own learning styles and their own knowledge that they bring to the table, and these should be supported and expanded on in the classroom. The goal of education is to support learners and thinkers, and not to condition minds to all think the same ways.