Re: Are teachers really so unwilling to learn?

[bickiia@earlham.edu]

rnd@sampo.karelia.ru wrote:
>Due to my work position I know many teachers and my observation
>is  that  most  of  'em  want  "ready  things".  Ready  to  use
>methodology, ready to use programs,  curricula,  etc.  Probably
>this reflects the fact that in Russia they get  paid  very  low
>and to have enough money they  need  to  teach  25-33  academic
>hours a week...

Do you think it's just the effort involved that keeps them from wanting
to learn more? (which is understandable, and maybe even noble, if it
means taking time from doing other sorts of class preparation)  Are they
reluctant to approach something outside of their chosen subject? (I
don't know what level your school is at, or what sort of specialization
there is)  Are they just intimidated by computers?

>However,  they  like  it  very  much  when   something   called
>"Telecommunications for Teachers", "Computer for Teachers", etc
>is given to them for easy reading.

Do these sorts of readings distinguish themselves by being fairly easy
reading, or do they really concentrate a lot on technology from a
teaching perspective?  Hopefully enjoyable (or at least passably
approachable) reading can also fit together with meaningful and
educational.  Knowing what they enjoy reading is important.

I also wonder if there's some way to get them learning something while
they do normal activities.  How teachers use the computers differs from
place to place, but you don't burden them much if you can take something
they normally do and make it a bit more educational.  Like HOWTO guides
(which are usually very skill-oriented) that have asides about the more
general issues involved, so if they learn to upload a web page they
don't just learn that all web page files should end in .html, but *why*
that's so.  Maybe a way to make their computer experience a bit richer,
without making it much longer.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on why teachers act like they
do.

  -- Ian