3 thoughts on “Salman Khan from khanacademy.org talks at TED”
Fantastic idea that I hope doesn’t turn terrible. Leaderboards are a horrific idea, as while they will inspire some children, others will indeed get discouraged rather than inspired by not being at or near the top (or even anywhere visible). It’s basic human psychology, and I’m surprised this has been overlooked. It seems like this was implemented in an attempt to make it more popular, rather than with the same frame of mind that they started with, which is just to help and focus on the individual needs. This is supposed to be an individual tool, not something that fosters competition of any kind.
I agree with JD to some extent, but as the slower kids catch up, they’ve got to feel great about themselves. I like the idea of watching the videos and being able to go back over areas they don’t understand as often as it takes. I love the idea of the teacher’s being able to spend most of class time interacting directly with the kids, as well as the peer tutoring. I found both very effective in my classrooms, even though there was not nearly as much time available.
One of my biggest gripes with math especially is that everybody has to move along at the same pace, even though those who master the subject quickly get bored and start acting up, and those who need more time never achieve mastery before being dumped into the next unit, which often does not follow logically from the preceding unit.
The leaderboard, if handled correctly, in this model, could be effective. The entire concept, though, is masterful. Using students who have mastered something to help others is a great idea. Frankly, if it’s half as successful as hoped, it will still be far superior to most classrooms.
Fantastic idea that I hope doesn’t turn terrible. Leaderboards are a horrific idea, as while they will inspire some children, others will indeed get discouraged rather than inspired by not being at or near the top (or even anywhere visible). It’s basic human psychology, and I’m surprised this has been overlooked. It seems like this was implemented in an attempt to make it more popular, rather than with the same frame of mind that they started with, which is just to help and focus on the individual needs. This is supposed to be an individual tool, not something that fosters competition of any kind.
I agree with JD to some extent, but as the slower kids catch up, they’ve got to feel great about themselves. I like the idea of watching the videos and being able to go back over areas they don’t understand as often as it takes. I love the idea of the teacher’s being able to spend most of class time interacting directly with the kids, as well as the peer tutoring. I found both very effective in my classrooms, even though there was not nearly as much time available.
One of my biggest gripes with math especially is that everybody has to move along at the same pace, even though those who master the subject quickly get bored and start acting up, and those who need more time never achieve mastery before being dumped into the next unit, which often does not follow logically from the preceding unit.
The leaderboard, if handled correctly, in this model, could be effective. The entire concept, though, is masterful. Using students who have mastered something to help others is a great idea. Frankly, if it’s half as successful as hoped, it will still be far superior to most classrooms.