What Teaching Needs Now!

When I proudly declared I wanted to go into education, after my senior year of high school, I thought I was doing it for all of the right reasons. I wanted to give back to society, and the impact that education had on me growing up, the goal was to educate the youth and help them find their path. Then after 14.5 years in the classroom, I transitioned into higher education and an administrative role. My impact on education has grown tenfold what I had as a classroom teacher, and I always want to support the efforts of those in the classroom. The Secondary Schools Team at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is a dynamic group of exemplary professionals who are continually supporting high school teachers and students in the very thing I wanted to do as a teacher, help students develop a path.

Teachers need to pivot, in an age where information is readily available at your fingertips, and people can find massive amounts of information at any given time. We need fewer standardized tests for rote memorization, we need more time to collaborate and build engaging authentic lessons with our peers, and we also need time to reach students where they are. ChatGPT has shown that AI can help us use algorithms to find and write in detail. AI can be used to spark creativity and learning how to navigate new platforms is especially important for all learners. The moral implications should also be explained, in that the individual's creative rights are important, and so too is the advancement of knowledge use.

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Gone are the days of needing to know absolutely everything by memory. Now we need confidence in finding the correct processes. So, to fix say an outlet you should be able to find DIY information, with skilled professionals who are not going to cut corners, but make you able to fix something simple up to the correct code. AR glasses can be used by technicians to facilitate fixing machines and wiring within a manufacturing plant. (See Vuzix: Field Service Glasses)

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Education needs to adapt and become the problem-solving, critical-thinking, confidence-building vehicle behind all modern industry changes. Multiple-choice, standardized tests, are a thing of the past. Absorbing and analyzing information in a digestible format makes learning so much easier. During a webinar I attended in 2017, a presenter stated that human beings are visual learners. Hence, learning from videos or images broken down into steps helps us learn more quickly. Reading and interpreting a text is a learned behavior, and although some are successful that way, not all learners can learn processes through reading alone. Another book I just read, Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning, gave multiple case studies on how learners who had multiple points to recall information in short assessments or self-questioning, learned material better. Teachers need to practice new quick learning and recall skills with students and get rid of re-reading until they understand practices. Practical use of knowledge is how recall becomes long-term and useful. 

One tool that resonates with me personally is the use of scholastic esports. Gaming to learn, gamification, game design, competitive gaming matches, and setting up intermural and external esports tournaments are all great pathways where games can be used to leverage learning. Students can think critically, use problem-solving skills, collaborate, and build leadership skills all in scholastic esports programs. Students don't have to be great gamers either to get into the space, there are support roles that are highly needed, and when developed can be used in a multitude of careers in the future, including social media and marketing. Education needs to embrace gaming and tools like it for teaching students. Scholastic uses of games can help connect to students who might have a harder time connecting with their learning. 

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