Waiting to be Taught versus Willing to Learn
by Langwitches ~ April 23rd, 2009. Filed under: Learning, Professional Development, Technology Integration Facilitator.
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Steven Kimmi, on his blog Experiments in Technology posted Taught Versus Learn, A Distinguishing Factor
Again, it was a small sentence that caught my eye and I was not able to let it go. Just as Kim Cofino’s quote about “ Using Technology Integration in the classroom is a Mindset, not a skill set“, I am mulling over the meaning of Steven’s
idea of waiting to be taught versus being willing to learn.
Is the difference an indicator of whether a teacher is a life long learner or not? Is being a life long learner a characteristic of a “good teacher”? Can you still be a good teacher if you are not a learner yourself?
Was does “the difference” mean to you? Is there a difference? Does it make all the difference? Is it an indicator? How do you work with teachers that are willing to learn? How do you work with the ones that are waiting to be taught? What are some of the characteristics of teachers who are waiting to be taught?
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April 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I believe that anyone in an occupation involving human growth and learning needs to be continually engaged in professional development and asking questions daily regarding best practices. I wouldn’t want a physician who stopped professional development after receiving his/her diploma. I enjoy professional/personal development and daily reflection but also engage in professional growth because it’s torture to have a poor teacher.
I don’t know what the key is to engaging those who are not engaged. Subversive activities like volunteering to teach a lesson/activity in the classroom and publicizing/sharing successful practices can open doors a bit. I most liked Steven’s comment that it’s not even about tech- it’s about improving your practice for nurturing writing, thinking, problem-solving, etc- and if tech is the tool that creates sparks that’s great.
April 24th, 2009 at 12:06 am
I once saw a quote (sorry I can’t remember where or who said it) that goes something like: “A learner cannot drink from a dry stream”. The implication was that for educators to be effective they need to constantly be refreshed themselves in order to educate others.
Education is exciting when one is learning new things. In my own school I was appointed “computer teacher” about 3 years ago. The rest of the staff breathed a sigh of relief that they no longer had to take their kids to the lab and they “got on with their job”. It’s been a long and difficult road for me to enthuse class teachers in computer lessons as I’ve consistently integrated my lessons with their classroom curriculum and gradually engaged them in projects which I do the “computer parts” in computer lessons. More and more of them are slowly coming and asking how I can help them with an integrated activity. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a slow process but I’m pleased to say that most of them now do admin tasks on the computer and they take more interest in how I use the computers to integrate their lessons with mine. I believe they’ve reached the stage where they are willing to learn.
April 24th, 2009 at 8:25 am
I am a high school English teacher, and I am still surprised every time I meet another teacher who does not read. How does that work in the classroom?
It is a VERY good day when I meet somebody who asks me why I blog or made a wiki or even use YouTube. I am waiting to meet someone who wants to talk about all the ideas and issues swirling around in my head (besides the Tech guru)
April 24th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
The minute we cease being interested in learning, the minute we stop being curious about the world around us, we begin to die. How can we model lifelong learning to our students if we do not do it ourselves?
Those who are “willing to learn” are risk-takers, even if it’s only in a small way. Those who are “waiting to be taught” just want someone else to hand it to them, tied up in a bow. It reminds me of those teachers who follow a unit lesson plan step-by-step, because that’s what the book says. They don’t see outside the box.
Having said that, I think we are all “willing” and “waiting” in various degrees. I have colleagues who are certainly willing to learn about areas in which they already feel a certain level of comfort but are waiting to be shown what to do in the computer lab. I love experimenting with technology with my kids but if I was suddenly plunked down in a Physics 11 class, I would probably wait a bit for someone to show me what to do….
April 25th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
[...] Blog post here [...]
April 28th, 2009 at 6:02 am
[...] Waiting to be Taught versus Willing to Learn from Langwitches, she asks, “Is being a life long learner a characteristic of a “good [...]
April 28th, 2009 at 11:31 am
[...] Waiting to be Taught versus Willing to Learn from Langwitches, she asks, “Is being a life long learner a characteristic of a “good [...]
April 30th, 2009 at 7:39 am
It is very different in Malaysia. I am a Malay Language teacher in a small town. Children over here are overwhelming with the technology especially the internet. Sadly, most of them are interested in games, not much of using the resources from the internet to learn more. 99% of them are waiting to be taught then willing to learn. Some of them refuse to learn although they know that they are not good at most of the subjects. They gave up. The willingness to learn is important, if you are willing to learn, you don’t wait to be taught.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:27 am
The question you pose is a great one. Whether it be in working with students or teachers, it appears that a learner who is waiting to be taught is on a higher learning curve and perhaps more difficult to work with than one who is willing to learn.
May 9th, 2009 at 5:35 am
[...] van verschillende mensen, of zitten beide mogelijkheden ingebakken in elk persoon? Via Langwitches (hier) kwam ik bij een blogpost van Mr. Kimmi: Taught Versus Learn, A Distinguishing Factor. Mr. Kimmi [...]