DR RESENDE 2011 EAST MEETS WEST at the threshold of a worldwide revolution in learning TEACHINGMETHODOLOGY

PROBLEM: A new electronic learning environment is replacing the linear, text-bound culture of conventional schools. SOLUTION: We need to free ourselves from the conventional education model. GOAL OF THIS LECTURE: CHALLENGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

1800 world's population = 1 billion 1927 world's population = 2 billion 1959 world's population = 3 billion 1974 world's population = 4 billion 1987 world's population = 5 billion 1999 world's population = 6 billion 2011 world's population = 7 billion To meet the education needs of this demographic explosion, we must think outside the box of conventional schooling. GOAL OF THIS LECTURE: CHALLENGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY DEMOGRAPHIC EXPLOSION

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS LECTURE NEW LEARNING AGE: DIGITAL ERA NEW TEACHING METHODOLOGY: 4 SKILLS 4 EAST AND WEST FACE SAME CHALLENGES IN THE 21 ST CENTURY 21 OVERVIEW OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

CONTENTS OF THIS LECTURE PRESENT: Education in China and America – similarities and differences. PAST: Foundations of Education in the East and West - Confucius and Socrates. FUTURE: Common Challenges for the East and West in the 21 st century.

WHAT IS THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM LIKE IN CHINA? AND IN AMERICA? EAST MEETS WEST EDUCATION IN CHINA AND AMERICA PRESENT

Personal Experience

Hierarchy The hierarchy of China education system can be illustrated in the following figure. Hierarchy The hierarchy of China education system can be illustrated in the following figure. EDUCATION IN AMERICA

DO STUDENTS HAVE SIMILAR EXPERIENCES? EAST MEETS WEST EDUCATION IN CHINA AND AMERICA PRESENT

EDUCATION IN CHINA AND AMERICA Compare and Contrast

EXAM-ORIENTED EDUCATION IN CHINA AND AMERICA Compare and Contrast SKILLS-ORIENTED GROUP STUDY SELF STUDY MEMORIZATION DISCUSSION TEACHER CENTERED STUDENT CENTERED

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST STUDENTS ARE FORCED TO STUDY FOCUS ON COGNITIVE SKILLS ROTE MEMORIZATION REPETITION AND IMITATION EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES GOAL: REALIZING PARENTS DREAM CHINA

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST STUDENTS ARE FREE TO STUDY FOCUS ON ANALYTICAL SKILLS CREATIVE PROGRAMS SELF-STUDY ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION GOAL: REALIZING ONES POTENTIAL AMERICA

LETS LOOK AT THE FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION: SOCRATES AND CONFUCIUS PAST EAST MEETS WEST FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION

CONFUCIUS ON LEARNING Confucius' pedagogical method: asking questions, citing the classics, using analogies. Learning as a process of observation of some type of subject matter - books, objects, or people - followed by reflection and inner change. LEARNING = MATURATION

SOCRATES ON LEARNING Socrates' pedagogical method: seeking truth requires questioning and interpreting the wisdom and knowledge of others. Learning as a process of observation of the wise, examining their lives, examining oneself and attaining moral knowledge. LEARNING = SEEKING TRUTH

CONFUCIUS METHODOLOGY Set a good example and inspire students Guide students to practise self-control and self-analysis Explain the present in the light of the past Combine theory and practice Encourage independent thought Welcome criticism and accept correction

SOCRATES METHODOLOGY Discover knowledge Use a dialectic method, investigate problems through dialogue discussions - Socratic method Use critical inquiry Know your limitations Know your weaknesses and control negative tendencies. Life-long pursuit of self-improvement and moral standards

SIMILARITIES Learning as a personal and highly individual activity. Learning as the seeking of virtue and self-control; thus, raising individual moral standards. Learning is not for an elite but for all and it encourages competence through meritocracy. Learning has a profound effect on society; it promotes intellectual and moral development. Learning fosters critical thinking which is laborious work. Study without thought is labor lost; thought without study is dangerous.

EAST MEETS WEST AT THE THRESHOLD OF A WORLDWIDE REVOLUTION IN LEARNING WHAT COMMON CHALLENGES DO THE WEST AND EAST FACE IN THE 21 ST CENTURY? FUTURE

EAST MEETS WEST AT THE THRESHOLD OF A WORLDWIDE REVOLUTION IN LEARNING FACTS Fewer of us are reading books and more of us are surfing the internet. Current education system clearly shows that the standardized testing regime and the outdated curricula are wasting the potential of our youth.

EAST MEETS WEST AT THE THRESHOLD OF A WORLDWIDE REVOLUTION IN LEARNING Can we blend Confucius and Socrates wisdom with the current digital culture? Can we adapt the outdated educational systems to a rapidly changing world? How do we align the flexible cognitive frameworks with the age of electronic learning? HYPOTHESIS

EAST MEETS WEST AT THE THRESHOLD OF A WORLDWIDE REVOLUTION IN LEARNING Is technology propelling a new age of enlightenment or a faulty set of trivialities? DILEMMA

The Internet culture facilitates egocentric, sociocentric and ethnocentric views which are profoundly anti-intellectual. MARK BAUERLEINS BOOK The Dumbest Generation (2008) NEGATIVE SIDE

GERALD HUFF AND BROR SAXBERG Full immersion - How will 10-year-olds learn?(2009) Technology Is an extension of our minds. Immersive technologies such as multitouch displays; telepresence ; 3-D environments; intelligent software; and simulationswill transform teaching and learning by POSITIVE SIDE

BENEFITS OF TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHING METHODOLOGY? Learning would take place both in and out of school. Teachers would no longer manage learning but would facilitate learning, creatively adapting curriculum to their students' needs. Like any creative effort, this collective journey would include errors, lack of good information, and false starts but the learning process would be a continuum. Teachers could act as guides and focus on 21st century thinking skills of critical reflection, empirical reasoning, collective intelligence, and metacognition, thus developing a new approach to education. FINDINGS

CRITICAL REFLECTION It is essential to distinguish fact from factoid, reality from fiction, and truth from lies Critical reflection enables us to see the world from multiple points of view and imagine alternate outcomes. CRITICAL REFLECTION It is essential to distinguish fact from factoid, reality from fiction, and truth from lies. Critical reflection enables us to see the world from multiple points of view and imagine alternate outcomes. NEW APPROACH TO EDUCATION

EMPIRICAL REASONING It is essential to base our methods of inquiry on direct observation, objective analysis, scientific spirit and pragmatic outlook. We need a healthy and viable approach to tackle the worlds problems and live harmoniously. NEW APPROACH TO EDUCATION

COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE All knowledge is social; we are not educational islands. Therefore, we need teamwork, we need to think collectively to solve common problems. NEW APPROACH TO EDUCATION

METACOGNITION We need metacognitive skills that lead to self- disciplined, self-monitored and self-corrective thinking. We need to align these flexible, expansive and adaptive cognitive frameworks with the age of electronic learning. NEW APPROACH TO EDUCATION

THE FUTURE OF TEACHING METHODOLOGY CONCLUSION We need to stop thinking of schools as buildings and start thinking of learning as occurring in many different places; we need to free ourselves from the conventional education model that still dominates our thinking.

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