Manifesto Name: Ajay Kalra
My Current Purpose
My immediate purpose is to help and support my students academically and socially. I care about my students and want to grow more effective at helping them learn mathematical concepts, able to communicate their understanding of math concepts and apply them in real life scenarios. My purpose of teaching is to support students in their journey toward learning and understanding mathematical concepts, skills and apply their knowledge in solving complex 21st century real life problems.
My Broader Agenda
My broader agenda is to keep growing professionally as a math educator and keep myself update with latest research on learning process, educational technologies and tools bring in more STEM in my instructional strategies and methods to support students prepare for 21st century complex problems. As a math educator I would like to keep and attitude of openness, eagerness to bring positive changes in my teaching practices.
Disconnect between current education system and 21st century compelx problems
There is big disconnection between present education system and 21’st century complex problems. Present education system is very old and outdated and has not kept up with a world of increasing complexity in which radical changes are taking place at all levels of life, where the environmental, economic and societal sustainability of our global society is at stake.
It’s nothing new that we live in global word but the real impact is beginning to show in every sphere of life and people are beginning to realize that. Our education and schooling system were created like assembly line system .Vision of education was to create and prepare a workforce that has led to creation of school curricula where each subjected is treat as separate entity and very little attention applied knowledge skill based learning.
While the problems (whether economic, environmental, digital etc.) as humans we are facing are globalized but education system is still very centralized as the U.S. Department of Education uses its influence (as it has been doing under both No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top) to prescribe specific educational methods or solutions on the classroom or school level; it has done this through mandated testing with sanctions applied to schools and now also to teachers. This “one size fits all” approach to educational reform denies the reality and potential benefits of local conditions, opportunities and, most important, the character of individual schools, teachers and students
How I seek to support students and prepare them for 21st century while working in and outdated education system
As an educator, facilitator, I have been constantly learning and developing transversal competences on top of the competences specific to my specific academic subject (Math).
I realize that how the technologies we use in our daily lives influence how students learn.
I have been employing today’s technologies to make material accessible and engaging to make learning process interactive and interesting.
I encourage students to create, communicate, and collaborate in ways never before possible.
I believe that to prepare students for 21st century, Educator needs to learn 21st century skills , technologies ( keep up with changing technologies ) , tools and how to integrate them in classroom which were before the dawn of internet.
I use interactive demonstration boards that allow the class to work through the material together.
I help my students to access via the Internet to engaging and transformative content from around the globe via tested and reliable learning portals.
For my online and F2F classes I use pen cast (Pens that record audio and data) so that my students can have access to my lectures ( or problem solving using thinking aloud method ) on the go in their mobile devices. Many students use their mobile devices for social networking, checking their emails, multimedia content, not realizing the power of devices as great educational tools.
I use of web-based applications that connect students, parents, and educators.
My Current Purpose
My immediate purpose is to help and support my students academically and socially. I care about my students and want to grow more effective at helping them learn mathematical concepts, able to communicate their understanding of math concepts and apply them in real life scenarios. My purpose of teaching is to support students in their journey toward learning and understanding mathematical concepts, skills and apply their knowledge in solving complex 21st century real life problems.
My Broader Agenda
My broader agenda is to keep growing professionally as a math educator and keep myself update with latest research on learning process, educational technologies and tools bring in more STEM in my instructional strategies and methods to support students prepare for 21st century complex problems. As a math educator I would like to keep and attitude of openness, eagerness to bring positive changes in my teaching practices.
Disconnect between current education system and 21st century compelx problems
There is big disconnection between present education system and 21’st century complex problems. Present education system is very old and outdated and has not kept up with a world of increasing complexity in which radical changes are taking place at all levels of life, where the environmental, economic and societal sustainability of our global society is at stake.
It’s nothing new that we live in global word but the real impact is beginning to show in every sphere of life and people are beginning to realize that. Our education and schooling system were created like assembly line system .Vision of education was to create and prepare a workforce that has led to creation of school curricula where each subjected is treat as separate entity and very little attention applied knowledge skill based learning.
While the problems (whether economic, environmental, digital etc.) as humans we are facing are globalized but education system is still very centralized as the U.S. Department of Education uses its influence (as it has been doing under both No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top) to prescribe specific educational methods or solutions on the classroom or school level; it has done this through mandated testing with sanctions applied to schools and now also to teachers. This “one size fits all” approach to educational reform denies the reality and potential benefits of local conditions, opportunities and, most important, the character of individual schools, teachers and students
How I seek to support students and prepare them for 21st century while working in and outdated education system
As an educator, facilitator, I have been constantly learning and developing transversal competences on top of the competences specific to my specific academic subject (Math).
I realize that how the technologies we use in our daily lives influence how students learn.
I have been employing today’s technologies to make material accessible and engaging to make learning process interactive and interesting.
I encourage students to create, communicate, and collaborate in ways never before possible.
I believe that to prepare students for 21st century, Educator needs to learn 21st century skills , technologies ( keep up with changing technologies ) , tools and how to integrate them in classroom which were before the dawn of internet.
I use interactive demonstration boards that allow the class to work through the material together.
I help my students to access via the Internet to engaging and transformative content from around the globe via tested and reliable learning portals.
For my online and F2F classes I use pen cast (Pens that record audio and data) so that my students can have access to my lectures ( or problem solving using thinking aloud method ) on the go in their mobile devices. Many students use their mobile devices for social networking, checking their emails, multimedia content, not realizing the power of devices as great educational tools.
I use of web-based applications that connect students, parents, and educators.