I recently came upon an interview
by Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay in which they talk about their flat classroom
initiative. Basically what the term
means is that people from all over the world work on the same lessons to create
a collaborative project that would not be possible without the input and different
perspectives from another group. The
focus is on collaboration and the use of Web 2.0 resources to shrink the world
and come to the realization that in today’s society; even those people on the
other side of the world are no farther away than your rival school down the
road. This idea however would not be
possible without a deep understanding and respect for other cultures and
traditions. Without the respect to put
aside differences and perhaps due something that is different than the way it
has always been no true collaboration can occur. Howard Gardner, in his book 5 Minds for the Future, talks to this
when he states that humans are born empathetic to the needs of others. “Infants
in a nursery see or hear the distress of another infant; they signal their
awareness by whimpering or crying themselves.” (Gardner, 2008) Yet, as humans
develop this empathy for others can either be fostered or curtailed leading young
adults to have a, “Fixed attitude toward others,” that is basically set for the
remainder of their life. (Gardner, 2008)
It is this window when a person’s attitudes towards others is still
fluid that education plays a roll.
In the classroom we have the
responsibility to teach students to be prepared for the future. At few jobs does that mean working by
yourself with no input from others. As
Julie Lindsay stated in her interview, “I think that’s one of the great things
about this project [flat classrooms] too, it mimics what your life is going to
be like in the business world or once you are out of college.” (Flattening
Classrooms) It is the ability to have people from diverse backgrounds work
together for a common purpose that allows for truly great things to occur. As the world continues to shrink, in terms of
communication, it is vital that students know how to work with others and be
respectful of differences of opinions and cultures. It is with that in mind that I would like to
share a project that I have created that I hope will foster collaboration
amongst my students inside and outside of the classroom.
The overview of the project is
simply to work as a team to re-elect one of the last five former president of
the United States of America. As a group
they will be responsible for creating video advertisements as well as posters
and lessons about their President. Where
the collaboration comes in is that each group is dependent on each member to
learn and present information about one of the four other presidents that are
part of the project. As a team they will
work together to create unique and collaborative resources to share with the
class as well as with other students throughout the school. As the end of the project, the students will
be viewing the work from other classrooms, as well as sharing their own work,
to determine who the school would re-elect.
While not a flat classroom project, the amount of collaboration and
respect that needs to be shown to others definitely fits the criteria of what I
have discussed here today. As a teacher
of the 21st century I feel it is vital to have students work with
their peers in collaborative projects regularly. “A person who is determined to do something
constructive with his life needs to come to terms with the fact that not
everyone is going to love him.” (Gardner, 2008)
By being respectful of other differences in collaborative projects, my
hope is that I will be preparing my students for the world they will be
entering after leaving my classroom.
Resources
Gardner, H. (2008). 5 Minds for the Future. Boston,
Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.
Flattening Classrooms and Engaging Minds with Global
Education: An Interview with Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay on Education.
(n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from
https://live.wilkes.edu/content/enforced/188324-11237.201510/1132015 146 PM -
189340-DiscoveryTranscripts/508 Unit 6 Intro Flattening Classrooms &
Engaging Minds.html?ou=188324
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