As we approach the 21st century, educators are being led in a new direction of teaching. We are no longer asking children to memorize rote facts. No longer are we to keep the students working quietly in their seats doing drill sheet after drill sheet.
There are new content standards that we are to incorporate into the curriculum. Children are asked to work together in cooperative learning groups and share ideas. Learning centers are utilized to engage children in exploring concepts and ideas. Teachers are to assess the children using authentic assessment...not just paper and pencil tasks. Authentic assessment includes projects, multimedia presentations and oral reports, just to name a few.
How do the teachers of today manage it? First of all, many of these "new" ideas, in my humble opinion, are things good teachers have been doing for years. I personally feel that drill will always have it's proper place in education. But it should never be the only teaching strategy used. I am very interested in hearing from other teachers on these and other issues in education. Feel free to email me!
