Ferg Roper

Manager Innovative Practice. Vocational Education. Views are my own.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@3dancingfeet You didn’t answer my question though - do you really believe most ed academics don’t actively advocate for constructivism and student-led teaching approaches as the best methods?

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@3dancingfeet Please send it through 😊

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@3dancingfeet yes granted this just one anecdote, but I see it all the time with educators I work with who have ITE as well. Discuss anything outside of constructivism and you get weird looks…

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@3dancingfeet In my ITE we had to write a paper aligning ed theory with practice to justify our personal philosophy of teaching. When asked if anyone had ever not used constructivism in their essay, the answer was “once”. Now you can say EI is included, but what is the reality on the ground?

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@3dancingfeet Hand on your heart “most ed academics are not strongly aligned with constructivism-as-teaching as the best approach”?

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@3dancingfeet How dare she go against the ITE constructivism-as-teaching hegemony. Hit the button! #WhoseKnowledge #WhosePower 😜

[𝗗𝗿 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝘄𝗮𝗶𝗻 @NathanielRSwain]

This is what I worry the most about all university degrees today. It’s a massive charade !
https://t.co/ksUogbRv9z

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath What additional extra benefit does he get from it being PBL rather than explicitly taught? That also accounts for the extra time it takes? I’m also concerned he will have an okay product at the end, but what have much in the way of enduring learning.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath Also, AFAIK, he hasn’t been taught much in the way of research, paraphrasing, note taking, book or internet searches. So I’ve been trying to guide him on some of these things… it’s just taking ages and I am doing most of the work. Why not just teach him these things first?

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath I’ll give a real example on how I think PBL has failed my son. He has to do a report, interview and presentation on aeroplanes (his choice). He doesn’t know much at all about the history, mechanics, or economics of planes.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath What parts from the past that focus on student-centred learning and constructivism-as-teaching do you think we should keep? What do you think about working memory and knowledge as a basis for problem solving and critical thinking?

[Adam Boxer @adamboxer1]

"Without calling out, [question], [wait and scan the room], [name]?"

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath My guess is that because many modern ed academics are focused on sociology, history, & philosophy they have largely ignored evidence outside their field of expertise, which has led to the situation we are in now. EI, CLT, retrieval etc are not fads, but well established.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath Agree but ed psych and cognitive science aren’t hokum.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath I see this in the unis and colleges I have worked in, as well as the school my kids go to.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath Cognitive science and EI have not had a fair shake in ITE or in schools.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath Constructivism as a learning theory is not bad - my thought though is that it is misapplied as a teaching theory. The threads drawn from the learning theory to the teaching theory are too long.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath The point is people were only taking the one perspective is because it was presented pretty much as “the path”.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath What’s extra frustrating is that I always hear (some) ed academics talk about “whose knowledge” is being taught, power, and politics, yet when it comes to ITE and in most schools, constructivism-as-teaching-method is still the dominant hegemony. Irony.

[Ferg Roper @fergusonroper]

@johncosgrove405 @petergates3 @sharemath Perhaps more importantly there was little alignment between our course & what the actual job of a teacher is. No modelling or building of explicit instruction, or retrieval, or securing knowledge, or spaced practice. V little feedback.