1) One of the main reasons that people try to avoid change is that they’re afraid of the unknown. They learned things in the old style when they were in school. They may have the attitude of “if I turned out OK, the kids will too.” This is unfortunate because using all of these different learning tools could DRAMATICALLY cut the learning curve in ALL subjects for children and so it’s the student that is being hurt because of the stubbornness of the teacher.

The only way to overcome that fear is to have someone slowly teach the teachers step by step how do incorporate these new tools. In this way they don’t have to change all at once and so the fear of failure because they are unfamiliar with the new methods won’t be a factor.

2) The second thing to remember is that the main difference behind this new style of learning is that it is student-driven. We are giving students the tools with which to become, in essence, autodidacts. But instead of going off and learning in seclusion, this type of learning allows for close relationships with other students and teachers are still important, but their role changes to that of a mentor, a guide that presents the student with the keys they’ll use to unlock the obstacles they come across.

For example, if a particular student is having trouble with fractions, the teacher could suggest a few different resources, perhaps some that make use of visualization to explain the concept and some that simply have another teacher explaining it in a different way. The student can then find which methods work best for him or herself and in this way they not only learn the concept that was being taught, but more importantly, they learn which methods of learning are most effective for them, and they can begin to customize their educations to use the methods that bring about the best personal results.

So what this means is that whether or not your colleagues want to relinquish their methods, their students will learn in whatever way is best for them. They could ignore their stubborn teachers entirely and tackle the material with the help of other teachers and students because these new resources give them the power to do just that. So in essence, as long as parents and children are educated about the material available out there, the education takes care of itself.

I hope that helps a bit.

Thanks again for taking the time to read!

~Walter

However, what I am finding disapointing is the attitude of some of our other class members (who are teachers in Technical Schools). We are almost halfway through the semester, and they are still resisting the changes that are being proposed. They hanging on grimly to their white board, marker, handouts and overheads. I would like to know a way that you could convert the energy they use in resisting these innovations into a postive attitude so they can move forward.