Hillel Weintraub - Doshisha International Jr/Sr High SchoolD
The International Working Group (IWG)
seems to be gaining more and more strength with each year. The later meetings
have been more focused on what has been done in each project and how we could
improve and be more effective. Particular focus came to be on how the work of
the group could be spread in Japan and help others think about international
projects as larger number of schools become involved in networking and as we
move closer to 2002 with its curriculum changes.
Most of the teachers in IWG were also members of the 100 School Projectfs core group and have considerable experience in various aspects of
teaching and technology use. One of the things which was discussed in the last
meeting was how their experience could be utilized most effectively. It was
agreed that there should be a core of teachers who could serve as advisors or
area leaders so that they could support wider numbers of teachers. I think this
would be partially effective, but there are other aspects of teacher education
which need to be given consideration and I mentioned some of these at our last
meeting. These were based on a three year program developed at the MIT Media
Lab for instituting Logo in the classrooms in Costa Rica.
To me, the most important thing about this Costa Rica/Media Lab program was the
idea that teachers needed to have local support, and that this was more
important than anything gexpertsh from far away could offer. Therefore, two teachers from each school
always worked together at the workshops. In addition, no school was allowed to
take part (and receive equipment) if the school leader (headmaster or assistant
headmaster) did not take part in the workshops. I think this approach was very
important because people need to have places they can turn to immediately for
encouragement and support, and that should come from within the school, rather
than only from outside.
I have a few recommendations that I would make growing out of my experience in
the IWG.
1) We should change from the present model of conferences to design
workshops as a way of reaching other teachers. A number of these design
workshops (on the model of a gashuku where people come together for a period
of intensive activity) could be held throughout the country. Rather than simply
having conferences where people come to listen to talks, these design workshops
could be places where teachers would come to actively participate in creating
their own class design. In such cases, always two teacher and the headmaster or
assistant headmaster from any school taking part should be required to attend.
One problem with the
conference model is that it reinforces the idea of passive listening and
meaning taking (getting knowledge
from others), rather than a model that emphasizes meaning making, creating our own knowledge through a sharing, exchange and
creative process. I think that changing this model is extremely important for
future education than simply learning about technology. Otherwise, new machines
will simply be used in old ways, which is definitely not the goal of the
teachers and others in IWG.
2) In the future, groups like IWG, should spend more time in workshop atmosphere themselves. For example, few of the other members of this group have ever visited my school or seen my classes, and I have not visited any of their classes or schools. I think we have missed a big opportunity here to exchange ideas and learn from each other. If this group continues next year, I think we should definitely plan on spending a day at each othersf schools, including class observations and a mini-workshop.
3) IWG should make the recommendation to MITI and Mombusho, that if schools are to develop a strong program in good teaching supported by technology, then the teachers who are active in these areas should not be moved around casually. They should be rewarded for their efforts somewhat in the way that a good baseball player might be given a no-trade clause in his contract. Teachers who invest their energy into creating a good educational program in a school, should not suddenly find that they are being changed. This is a complete lack of respect for the individual, and it greatly disrupts the programs under development in each school.
Finally, I have benefited greatly from the interaction with the other teachers, the supporting people at CEC and the advisors of the Me and Media group, and I hope that these relationships can continue in the future.
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