Sunday, October 12, 2014

Blog Post #8

What can we learn about teaching and learning from Randy Pausch?

Quote from Randy Pausch


From watching this video of Randy Pausch Last Lecture, I learned so many things that I know are possible for me to use now and in the future and are possible for anyone to use as well.

Organization
The first thing I learned about teaching and learning is it is effective to be well organized and have organized thoughts. Even if those thoughts are represented as slides. Randy used slides to show what he was going to talk about, what he was not going to talk about, and had slides according to each individual thing. Being organized gives the audience a sense of security in that the lecture is being taken seriously.

Be Realistic
Randy used real language towards his audience which shows a sense of confidence and him being comfortable about the topic he was talking about. When someone uses that kind of language and acts comfortable about the topic and is realistic, the audience knows that they can trust what the person is saying because they are being so honest.

Credibility
Credibility is important when you are a teacher because it is good to have the facts and where they came from. Randy shows his credibility when he uses quotes, pictures, and stories. He made things come to life in his lecture when he told his story about the bears he had won at the fair and brought some of the huge bears out after showing pictures. He also showed credibility by quoting one of the assistant coaches under Coach Graham when he said, "When you screw up and nobody's saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up." This shows that these stories he told really meant something and changed him as a person.

The Importance of PLN's
I really understood the importance of Personal Learning Networks when Randy was talking about how he called his mentor for help even when he was in a high position in life. He was a professor in a course that he created, the first project results blew his mind and he thought the students' were amazing. He called his mentor to tell him what to do because he wanted to give the students' all A's but his mentor told him to go to class and tell them that they did good but that they could do better. That's what he did and the results continued to blow his mind. This is a good example of why...

NOT to set a bar for your students.
Setting a bar for your students will only disable them. It will hold them back and they will never know their full potential. But sense they are on their own, it is good to have them be self-reflective. Make sure they are self-aware in their work when it comes to project base learning. It is also good to show them feedback and show them how to cherish and use feedback to make themselves better.

It is Fun to Have an Audience
It is fun for the audience, it is fun for the kids, so when it is possible to have an audience for something, do it. The internet is a great way to make that happen because once it is on the internet, anyone can see it and give feedback and form opinions.

Take Things to the Next Level
Do what you can to learn then take it to the next level. After Randy quit teaching the course he made, he passed it along to someone he trusted it with and he took it to the next level. He knew his information, knew what Randy did with it, and took it further. I think we can do that with everything we learn. We can either memorize something and keep it stored in our brains or we can learn it and apply it.

Side Note: Randy's speech not only taught me things about teaching and learning but also how to act in the real world by pointing out to:
- Never lose the child-like wonder
- Help others
- Never give up
- Loyalty is a two-way street
- Show gratitude

These are things that will all around have a positive impact on the world and in education.


3 comments:

  1. Great blog post, Tori! I really liked how you divided each topic separately. The topics you chose were also chosen wisely. You pointed out many lessons learned that we can all use as educators. I really enjoyed this lecture and you did very well highlighting the important factors of this lecture.

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  2. Hi Tori,
    Great Post!! All of your thoughts were so well organized and to the point. I really enjoyed this assignment. I have learned a lot from Randy Pausch

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