Results of this surge are so far mixed. As the article more fully relates, in some cases test scores went up when kids engaged in a cyber-school, and in others the scores went down. The lack of a full-time teacher building lesson plans and actively working with students proved disastrous on some occasions, and perfectly fine in others. Perhaps the only consistent winners in these cases have been state budgets (though incidentally, not school districts' budgets) which save considerable sums when students switch from ordinary schools to a cyber-schools.
Given that, the cyber direction could well point to the future, especially the hybrid variety, which includes both human and computerized teachers. With increasingly sophisticated teaching games--which adapt to a student's ability over time--it might be possible to individualize education so that students are grouped according to their actual ability in a subject rather than by their age. So while today one might group all 8-9 year-olds into "Third Grade," a hybrid-cyber approach might group them according to their specific ability in each subject. For example, students with a particular aptitude for math might progress to learning algebra by the time they're 9, while those who struggle with the subject might remain on material deemed by today's standards "below grade-level." The potential beauty of this approach--assuming sufficiently adaptable software--is the specificity with which a student's ability could not only be assessed, but also matched with the type and level of work most congruent with that ability. So whether a student is "quick" or "slow" in picking up a subject, an adaptive cyber approach would allow them to set their own pace.
To use an analogy, in distance-running (a subject I've studied more than pedagogy), specific stresses yield specific adaptations. Accordingly, it stands to reason that any coach who seeks to improve the performance of his or her charges should endeavor to provide the specific stress that each athlete requires for improvement. Like students, all athletes are unique in their abilities, and therefore have unique needs. The task of the coach then becomes two-fold; to assess the specific needs of each athlete, and to develop a program for providing those needs in an optimal way.
For teachers, one potential benefit and challenge inherent in the cyber-hybrid approach could involve the increased attention they might give particular students. With computers doing the "base" assessment and teaching through adaptive games, teachers could concentrate on the more nuanced educational (and ancillary) needs of their charges. What are the student's particular interests? Do they have a healthy lifestyle? What is the nature of their particular temperament? And how easily do they bounce back from adversity? While experience suggests that this is already done, perhaps it is possible that the current system forces teachers to teach too much like a computer, and not enough like a human.
And that's the real benefit I see from the increasing use of cyber teaching methods. It's not that computers are better at teaching people new things; in most ways I would suggest they're not. Rather, the benefit is the potential freedom it gives both teachers and students to work together toward a student's self-realization. Most would agree that knowledge is a necessary component of schooling, but knowledge alone does not yield achievement or contentment. As discussed in an earlier post on the constructive role of failure, research suggests that "character" is at least as important as knowledge in achievement, be it in schooling, professional careers, or simply in attaining happiness. Given the critical role that character plays in these fields, it would seem essential that a student's education should assist in developing it.
Perhaps computers will one day allow teachers to specialize in the study and development of character, which today seems relegated to secondary importance by an emphasis on content and skill-based exams. Perhaps the trend toward greater cyber instruction will give teachers the space and perspective they need to be foremost active agents in the development of that mysterious quality of "mental-toughness" that seems so essential to doing almost any difficult task. Something to consider.
Happy Thursday, friends :)
No comments:
Post a Comment