I have been teaching for a long time, and in doing so have acquired a body of knowledge about kids and learning that I really wish more people would understand about the potential of students. In 1931, my grandmother -- bottom left for you guys over here -- graduated from the eighth grade. She went to school to get the information because that's where the information lived. It was in the books; it was inside the teacher's head; and she needed to go there to get the information, because that's how you learned. Fast-forward a generation: this is the one-room schoolhouse, Oak Grove, where my father went to a one-room schoolhouse. And he again had to travel to the school to get the information from the teacher, stored it in the only portable memory he has, which is inside his own head, and take it with him, because that is how information was being transported from teacher to student and then used in the world. When I was a kid, we had a set of encyclopedias at my house. It was purchased the year I was born, and it was extraordinary, because I did not have to wait to go to the library to get to the information. The information was inside my house and it was awesome. This was different than either generation had experienced before, and it changed the way I interacted with information even at just a small level. But the information was closer to me. I could get access to it.
我從事教職已有一段很長的時間 而在我教書的過程當中 我學了很多關於孩子與學習的知識 我非常希望更多人可以了解 學生的潛能 1931年,我的祖母 從你們那邊看過來左下角那位 從八年級結業(相當於國中二年級) 她上學以取得知識 因為在過去,那是知識的所在 那是在書本裡,在老師的腦袋裡 而她需要專程到學校取得這些知識 因為那是當時學習的途徑 快轉過一個世代 這是個只有一間教室的學校,Oak Grove 我父親就是在這間只有一個教室的學校就讀 而同樣的,他不得不去上學 以從老師那兒取得知識 然後將這些知識儲存在他唯一可攜帶的硬碟 - 就是他自己的腦袋裡 然後將這些隨身攜帶 因為這是過去知識被傳遞的唯一途徑 從老師傳給學生,接著在世界上使用 當我還小的時候 我們家裡有一套百科全書 它是在我出生的那一年購買的 而那是非常了不起的事情 因為我不需要等著去圖書館取得這些知識 這些知識就存在我的屋子裡 而那真是太棒了 這個經歷 和過去兩代相比,是非常不同的 這改變了我和知識互動的方式 即使改變的幅度很小 這些知識卻離我更近了 我可以自由的接觸它
In the time that passes between when I was a kid in high school and when I started teaching, we really see the advent of the Internet. Right about the time that the Internet gets going as an educational tool, I take off from Wisconsin and move to Kansas, small town Kansas, where I had an opportunity to teach in a lovely, small-town, rural Kansas school district, where I was teaching my favorite subject, American government. My first year -- super gung-ho -- going to teach American government, loved the political system. Kids in the 12th grade: not exactly all that enthusiastic about the American government system. Year two: learned a few things -- had to change my tactic. And I put in front of them an authentic experience that allowed them to learn for themselves. I didn't tell them what to do or how to do it. I posed a problem in front of them, which was to put on an election forum for their own community.
從我還是個念中學的孩子 到我開始教書 這幾年間 我們真的親眼目睹網路的進展 就在網路開始 成為教學工具的時候 我離開威斯康辛州 搬到勘薩斯州,勘薩斯的小鎮 在那裡我有機會教書 那是一個小而美麗的城鎮 在勘薩斯的鄉村學區 教我最喜歡的學科 "美國政府" 教書的第一年,充滿熱情,準備教"美國政府" 我當時熱愛政治系統 這些十二年級的孩子(相當於高中三年級) 對於美國政府體系 並不完全充滿如此的熱情 開始教書的第二年,我了解了一些事情,我得改變教學方針 我提供他們一個真實體驗的機會 讓他們可以自主學習 我沒有告訴他們得做什麼,或是要怎麼做 我只是在他們面前提出一個問題 要他們在自己的社區設立一個選舉論壇
They produced flyers. They called offices. They checked schedules. They were meeting with secretaries. They produced an election forum booklet for the entire town to learn more about their candidates. They invited everyone into the school for an evening of conversation about government and politics and whether or not the streets were done well, and really had this robust experiential learning. The older teachers -- more experienced -- looked at me and went, "Oh, there she is. That's so cute. She's trying to get that done." (Laughter) "She doesn't know what she's in for." But I knew that the kids would show up, and I believed it, and I told them every week what I expected out of them. And that night, all 90 kids -- dressed appropriately, doing their job, owning it. I had to just sit and watch. It was theirs. It was experiential. It was authentic. It meant something to them. And they will step up.
他們設計傳單,聯絡各個選舉辦公室 他們和秘書排定行程 他們設計了一本選舉論壇手冊 提供給全鎮的鎮民讓他們更了解他們的候選人 他們邀請鎮民到學校 參與一個晚上的座談 談論關於政府與政治 還有鎮裡的街道是否修建完善 學生們真的得到健全的體驗式學習 學校裡比較資深年長的老師 看著我說 "喔,瞧瞧她,多天真,竟想試著這麼做" (大笑) "她不知道她把自己陷入怎麼樣的局面" 但我知道孩子們會出席 而我真的這樣相信 每個禮拜我都對他們說我是如何期待他們的表現 而那天晚上,全部九十個孩子 每個人的穿戴整齊,各司其職,完全掌握了論壇 我只需要坐在一旁看著 那是他們的夜晚,那是經驗,那是真實的經驗 那對他們來說具有某些意義 而他們將會更努力
From Kansas, I moved on to lovely Arizona, where I taught in Flagstaff for a number of years, this time with middle school students. Luckily, I didn't have to teach them American government. Could teach them the more exciting topic of geography. Again, "thrilled" to learn. But what was interesting about this position I found myself in in Arizona, was I had this really extraordinarily eclectic group of kids to work with in a truly public school, and we got to have these moments where we would get these opportunities. And one opportunity was we got to go and meet Paul Rusesabagina, which is the gentleman that the movie "Hotel Rwanda" is based after. And he was going to speak at the high school next door to us. We could walk there. We didn't even have to pay for the buses. There was no expense cost. Perfect field trip.
離開堪薩斯,我搬到美麗的亞利桑納州 我在Flagstaff小鎮教了幾年書 這次是教國中的學生 幸運地,我這次不用教美國政治 而是教更令人興奮的學科 - 地理 再一次,非常期待的要學習 但有趣的是 在這個亞歷桑納州的教職 我所面對的 是一群非常多樣,彼此差異懸殊的孩子 是一所真正的公立學校 在那裡,有些時候,我們得到了一些機會 而其中一個機會是 我們得以和Paul Russabagina 碰面 電影"盧安達飯店" 是根據這位先生的事作為藍本 他當時正要到隔壁的高中演講 我們可以步行到那所學校,我們甚至不用付公車車費 完全不需要額外的支出,非常完美的校外教學
The problem then becomes how do you take seventh- and eighth-graders to a talk about genocide and deal with the subject in a way that is responsible and respectful, and they know what to do with it. And so we chose to look at Paul Rusesabagina as an example of a gentleman who singularly used his life to do something positive. I then challenged the kids to identify someone in their own life, or in their own story, or in their own world, that they could identify that had done a similar thing. I asked them to produce a little movie about it. It's the first time we'd done this. Nobody really knew how to make these little movies on the computer, but they were into it. And I asked them to put their own voice over it. It was the most awesome moment of revelation that when you ask kids to use their own voice and ask them to speak for themselves, what they're willing to share. The last question of the assignment is: how do you plan to use your life to positively impact other people? The things that kids will say when you ask them and take the time to listen is extraordinary.
然後接著的問題是 你要怎麼和七,八年級的學生談論種族屠殺 用怎麼樣的方式來處理這個議題 一種負責任和尊重的方式 讓學生們知道該怎麼面對這個議題 所以我們決定要以 Paul Rusesabagina 作一個模範 看看他如何利用自己個人的生命做些正面的事情 接著,我挑戰這些孩子,要他們去找出 在他們的生命裡,在他們自己的故事中,或是在他們自己的世界裡 那些他們認為也做過類似事情的人 我要求他們為這些人和事蹟製作一部短片 這是我們第一次嘗試製作短片 沒有人真的知道如何利用電腦製作短片 但他們非常投入,我要他們把自己的意見也錄進去 那實在是最能引發反思的時刻 當你要孩子們用他們自己的聲音 要他們為自己說話 說那些他們願意分享的故事 這項作業的最後一個問題是 你打算怎麼利用你自己的生命 去正面的影響其他人 當你問孩子們問題然後花時間傾聽 他們說出來的計畫 是非常了不起的
Fast-forward to Pennsylvania, where I find myself today. I teach at the Science Leadership Academy, which is a partnership school between the Franklin Institute and the school district of Philadelphia. We are a nine through 12 public school, but we do school quite differently. I moved there primarily to be part of a learning environment that validated the way that I knew that kids learned, and that really wanted to investigate what was possible when you are willing to let go of some of the paradigms of the past, of information scarcity when my grandmother was in school and when my father was in school and even when I was in school, and to a moment when we have information surplus. So what do you do when the information is all around you? Why do you have kids come to school if they no longer have to come there to get the information?
快轉到賓州,我現在住的地方 我在科學領導學院教書 是富蘭克林學院 和費城學區協同的合夥計畫 我們是一間公立高中 但我們的教學方式很不一樣 我起初搬到那裡 是為了親身參與一個教學環境 一個可以證實我所理解孩子有效學習方式的環境 一個願意探索 所有可能性的教學環境 當你願意放棄 一些過去的標準模式 放棄資訊匱乏的念頭,如同我祖母的那個年代 還有我父親甚至是我自己念書的那些年代 認知我們正處於資訊過剩的時代 所以你該怎麼處理那些環繞四周的資訊? 你為什麼要孩子們來學校? 如果他們再也不需要特意到學校取得這些資訊?
In Philadelphia we have a one-to-one laptop program, so the kids are bringing in laptops with them everyday, taking them home, getting access to information. And here's the thing that you need to get comfortable with when you've given the tool to acquire information to students, is that you have to be comfortable with this idea of allowing kids to fail as part of the learning process. We deal right now in the educational landscape with an infatuation with the culture of one right answer that can be properly bubbled on the average multiple choice test, and I am here to share with you: it is not learning. That is the absolute wrong thing to ask, to tell kids to never be wrong. To ask them to always have the right answer doesn't allow them to learn. So we did this project, and this is one of the artifacts of the project. I almost never show them off because of the issue of the idea of failure.
在賓州,我們有一個人人有筆電的計畫 所以這些孩子每天帶著他們的筆記型電腦 帶著電腦回家,隨時取得資訊 而有一件事,是你需要學著適應的 當你給了學生工具 讓他們可以自主取得資訊 你得適應一個想法 那就是允許孩子失敗 把失敗視為學習的一部分 我們現在面對教育大環境 帶著一種 迷戀單一解答的文化 一種用均化單選題得到解答的文化 而我在這裡要和你們分享 這不是學習 這絕對是個錯誤 要求孩子們永遠不可以犯錯 要求他們永遠都要有正確的解答 不能令他們去學習 所以我們發展了這個計畫 這是這個計畫的其中一項作品 我幾乎從來沒有展示過這些 因為我們對於錯誤與失敗的觀念
My students produced these info-graphics as a result of a unit that we decided to do at the end of the year responding to the oil spill. I asked them to take the examples that we were seeing of the info-graphics that existed in a lot of mass media, and take a look at what were the interesting components of it, and produce one for themselves of a different man-made disaster from American history. And they had certain criteria to do it. They were a little uncomfortable with it, because we'd never done this before, and they didn't know exactly how to do it. They can talk -- they're very smooth, and they can write very, very well, but asking them to communicate ideas in a different way was a little uncomfortable for them. But I gave them the room to just do the thing. Go create. Go figure it out. Let's see what we can do. And the student that persistently turns out the best visual product did not disappoint. This was done in like two or three days. And this is the work of the student that consistently did it.
我的學生們做了這些資訊畫報 當作我們某個單元的成果,我們決定在年底做這些畫報 回應漏油事件 我要求他們拿 他們看過的資訊圖表當做範例 在大眾傳播媒體裡展示的那些 仔細看看那些範例裡頭有趣的元素是什麼 然後自己設計一個 以美國歷史中另一個人為災難為主題的畫報 我為這項作業設了一些其他的條件 他們對這個作業有些不自在 因為我們從來沒有作過這樣的作業,而他們不完全知道要怎麼進行 他們可以談論這議題,相當流利 他們也能寫得非常非常好 但當被要求要用一種另類的方式表達想法的時候 他們有點無所適從 但我給了他們空間去做這個作業 去創造,去自己發現該怎麼做 讓我們拭目以待我們可以完成些什麼 最後那些總是 呈現最佳視覺效果作品的學生,這次也沒有讓人失望 這個作品大概花了兩三天的時間 而這是來自一個作業品質非常穩定的學生
And when I sat the students down, I said, "Who's got the best one?" And they immediately went, "There it is." Didn't read anything. "There it is." And I said, "Well what makes it great?" And they're like, "Oh, the design's good, and he's using good color. And there's some ... " And they went through all that we processed out loud. And I said, "Go read it." And they're like, "Oh, that one wasn't so awesome." And then we went to another one -- it didn't have great visuals, but it had great information -- and spent an hour talking about the learning process, because it wasn't about whether or not it was perfect, or whether or not it was what I could create. It asked them to create for themselves, and it allowed them to fail, process, learn from. And when we do another round of this in my class this year, they will do better this time, because learning has to include an amount of failure, because failure is instructional in the process.
然後當我要所有學生坐下來,我問他們"誰交出了最好的作品?" 他們立刻指著這個作品回答"這件" 他們並沒有細讀其中的內容,就回答了"這件" 然後我說,"那麼,是什麼因素讓這個作品這麼好?" 他們回答說,"喔,設計得很好,他用了很好的顏色組合,還有一些..." 他們分別說了想法,我們一起討論了之後 我說,"現在去讀讀內容" 接著他們說"喔,現在看起來好像其實沒有那麼好" 後來我們移到另外一個版子前面 那個作品沒有很好的視覺設計,但是有非常好的資訊內容 我們接著花了大概一個小時討論這個學習過程 因為那並不是關於哪個作品比較完美 或是我能或不能創造出這樣的東西 這作業是要他們為自己創作 這作業也讓他們有失敗的可能 消化思考之後,從失敗中學習 今年,若我們又再一次作類似的作業時 他們都將會比去年進步 因為學習 必須包含一定程度的失敗 因為失敗具有教學意義 在學習的過程中
There are a million pictures that I could click through here, and had to choose carefully -- this is one of my favorites -- of students learning, of what learning can look like in a landscape where we let go of the idea that kids have to come to school to get the information, but instead, ask them what they can do with it. Ask them really interesting questions. They will not disappoint. Ask them to go to places, to see things for themselves, to actually experience the learning, to play, to inquire. This is one of my favorite photos, because this was taken on Tuesday, when I asked the students to go to the polls. This is Robbie, and this was his first day of voting, and he wanted to share that with everybody and do that. But this is learning too, because we asked them to go out into real spaces.
我有上百萬個照片 可以展示 可我得小心的選擇,好,這是我最喜歡的一張 學生正在學習的照片 學習可以看起來是什麼樣子 在一個我們放棄傳統念頭的環境中 放棄學生非得來學校以取得知識這樣的想法 取而代之,問他們,他們可以利用這些資訊做些什麼? 問他們真正有趣的問題 他們不會讓人失望 要求他們去不同的地方 去親眼見識不同的事情 去真正的體驗學習 去玩,去查詢 這是我最喜歡的照片之一 因為這是一張星期二照的照片 當我要求學生們去投票 這是Robbie,這是他第一次投票 而他想要和大家分享這個投票的經歷 但這也是學習 因為我們要他們到外頭真實的世界去
The main point is that, if we continue to look at education as if it's about coming to school to get the information and not about experiential learning, empowering student voice and embracing failure, we're missing the mark. And everything that everybody is talking about today isn't possible if we keep having an educational system that does not value these qualities, because we won't get there with a standardized test, and we won't get there with a culture of one right answer. We know how to do this better, and it's time to do better.
重點是 如果我們繼續把教育 當作是要來學校 取得資訊 而不是關於體驗試學習 傾聽學生的聲音,擁抱錯誤和失敗 我們將會錯過最重要的部分 而今天每個人在談論的每件事情 都將不可能達成,如果我們繼續這樣的教育系統 這樣不重視這些價值的教育系統 因為,我們將沒有辦法透過標準化的測驗達成目標 唯一標準解答的文化,也沒有辦法帶我們到那裡去 我們知道怎麼樣可以做得更好 而現在,是時候去做得更好了
(Applause)
(鼓掌)