A week from today, the 26th, you will be doing presentations on education. These will be:
- Approx 6-7 minutes
- Will refer to the themes of your education narratives– what did you guys bring up in the work you’ve written already? THIS IS KEY!!
- Will quote from some of your education narratives.
- Will incorporate the work of EVERYONE in your group somehow (you’ll evaluate each other!)
- Will have a visual component
- Will teach your audience (us!) something
- Will include new research
- And will answer one or both of the following questions:
- What are some of the core problems with education in America?
- What are some of the first steps we can take to improve the education system?
Please, please please do not oversimplify your answers! I am asking you for “first steps” for a reason– these are big questions, and over-simple answers do not do them justice. If you’ve proposed solutions in your blog posts for today, that’s fine– but think of those as starting places for your research.
How do you get started? It’s up to you, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:
- First of all, look at what you’ve written. What are some of the themes throughout the group? What can you learn from each other?
- What topics could you research related to those themes? I like to use the KWL+ rubric for research. That is, I write about what I K(know) about a question or theme, and then what I W (want to know.) Then I do a little bit of internet research, maybe 10 mins or so. Then I write about what I L(learned) from that research and what I (+) Still want to know. This helps me get to some good research.
- What do you think your audience needs to know? What is the best way to deliver that info in a way that will keep them interested?
Some of you have group members who are gone today. Both Hend (group 3) and Lenesha (group 4) have spoken to me about having to miss class. You should give them assignments and we will contact them to let them know what those assignments are.
Here are some of the questions you wrote in class last week. They might help you think about your presentations. Only use them if they help with the assignment above. Don’t let them sway you from keeping to your group’s theme!:
- Do you agree with Sir Ken Robinson that the education system should change from pushing a very generalized style of learning to a more individual tailored style?
- Do you agree with Robinson that the focus on standardized testing keeps students from true learning? What is a better alternative?
- Is education an anesthetic to young people? Does it have to be?
- Sir Ken Robinson claimed contemporary education systems are stuck in the past. Based on your experience with today’s way of teaching, how should we change or “modernize” the American education system?
- According to Robinson, a college degree doesn’t guarantee a successful future, as it once did. How does this motivate or discourage you as a college student?
