Pundits abound with promises that technology can "replace the middleman" in education. Although I grate against the idea that a thoughtful, concerned, reflective, intelligent, passionate, caring adult--a teacher!--is the equivalent to a business owner who marks up merchandise for profit, the metaphor of the middleman forced me to think about just what, exactly, does the teacher add in a cloud-based, post-2007 , MOOC world, where a myriad of apps and sites (e.g. Khan Academy) can tailor feedback and where content has gotten so cheap (e.g. MIT's free courses, or sites like Coursera--featuring coursework from Stanford, UPenn, and Johns Hopkins--or nifty-looking courses like "Analytics in Course Design" through Dartmouth via Canvas).
Surely, teachers are not simply haggling with students for a better price on learning! But just the same, I am asking myself what is the value-added I am bringing to my students that cannot be replaced.
But if teachers are middlemen in the (to complete the metaphor, please pardon) supply chain of information, then surely we can be cut out of the equation, and learners will be better off. At least, that's what the metaphor suggests.
In his recent book, The Power of the Adolescent Brain (see previous post) Thomas Armstrong offers insight on the biological bases of the learning of young people. One of the chapters focuses on affective learning--the kinds of interactions that show care and context and help a student to feel nurtured. Affective learning makes a good teacher into a stupendous, indispensable learning coach.
An insightful teacher breathes life into a learner's process in ways that escape the computer's black box:
- Breathed Words of Encouragement. What are the nuances of the misconception? Very quickly, what are the possible solutions? Rapid, coach-like feedback with a positive jolt of real enthusiasm breathes life into the learner's process. Muy bien, Way to Go, You can Do It! These phrases have impacted me as a learner, and I see them impact my students, as well, because they are breathed words of encouragement, spoken into the life of the learner.
- Seeing the Learner's Sense. How does the learner feel about his or her progress? Is he or she attributing a misconception falsely to a failed sense of self and thus paving the way for learned helplessness? If so, then no amount of information can change the learner's orientation. When teachers take the time to understand their students' processing, they do more than an algorithm can do because they address motivation, interest and sense of self.
- Sensing Moral and Personal Development. What kind of person is the learner becoming? In a recent talk in Chicago at the College Board's Annual Forum (10/28/2016), Thomas Friedman exclaimed that a focus of his new book will be on the morality of cyberspace. That we have such power now and need to temper it with the Golden Rule. This is something spiritual and very deep. A teacher can provide key mentoring and encouragement, and that can help a young person find his or her worth as well as a place in the world.
In a variety of contexts--on the athletic field, in the classroom, in 1:1 tutoring, through youth group, community service, in scouting, rocket club, and part time work--educators can help young people in these three key areas, areas that might loosely be termed affective learning. Many of us with experience in this field know how much the adolescent mind functions on emotion, context, and belonging.
The pressure us on, though. Educators who teach the 'old way' of simply providing solutions--and even accurate instruction--will find that they are replaced by algorithms that can do the same thing, much faster and on a much more individualized level. However, for those of us who care to be invested in our students holistically, the gains will be tremendous, and the value added back to the learner and, in turn, society will be decisive.
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