Arguments about “sage on stage,” “guide on the side,” or “fellow learner” aside, as we start this week on the role of the teacher I would like an answer to this specific question:
Is it the role of the teacher to create knowledge or to organize knowledge? Why?
I think this question has a definitive answer, but I find it useful to see if we agree on what it is.
September 29th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I don’t think that we create knowledge. I think the knowledge is there for the students and as the teacher we organize knowledge. As a student, I don’t think that an instructor can create knowledge for me, the role of the instructor is to organize it in such a way that I have the power to take control of what I want to learn and what I can learn. Knowledge and education is everywhere. Teachers provide an avenue for the students to take the power into their own hands and discover it for themselves. That is how I believe students learn the most. Answers should almost never be given to students, to learn they need to discover it on their own.
September 29th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Teachers are there to guide the student to discover their own knowledge. We’re there to help, but mostly we have to point them to their own discovery.
September 29th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
A teacher delivers the knowledge to the students. The way we organize and deliver knowledge depends on the students and learning environment. A taecher does not create the knowledge.
September 29th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
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September 29th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
I agree with Tim in that it is the job of the teacher to help the student discover their own knowledge. I think knowledge is all all around us, we only need to direct a way. The teacher must organize a way for students to work together and theirself in a manner that they have the opportunity to grab the knowledge within reach.
September 30th, 2008 at 8:50 am
I don’t feel that teachers create knowledge, exactly, even though they should be life long learners and always asking questions to which answers need to be found. Knowledge is never “created”. It is always there waiting to be discovered by the curious mind. Teachers use knowledge to facilitate learning and the better teachers go a step further. They engage the curious mind and encourage their students to ask questions and explore to find the answer to those questions.
September 30th, 2008 at 9:07 am
As a teacher, I don’t feel as if I can “create” knowledge. I think that all people have knowledge, but it is up to them how they apply it. Therefore, I think it is the role of the teacher to “organize” knowledge. We want to direct our students in the right pathway of using their knowledge. Knowledge is power and if our students can see how to apply the things they know they will be more successful in learning.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I think that we or more organizers than creators. We provide instruction and it is up to the learner to make sense of our instruction. We assist students in taking what they have learned in previous years, in previous classes and extending it, making sense of it, and putting it to use. We help them to file away information so that it is easier for them to retrieve it when it is needed.
October 1st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I don’t not believe that a teacher creates the the knowledge. The knowledge is already their. As the teacher we work on finding ways to help our students find the knowledge for themselves. We organize and group knowledge in a way that will enhance the students’ learning.
October 3rd, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I do not believe that teachers create knowledge but they organize it in a way to allow students to learn. There are many different learning styles so teachers have to organize the knowledge in a way that all students will grasp the concept.