Blooming # 4 Activity

The Blooming Questions activity demonstrated 21^st century approaches to education, because it made each member of the class think about the future of education.  Where is education headed?  How will education be shaped in the future?   This activity made me personally think about the ever changing educational field and how societal changes play a direct role in our classrooms.  Technology has moved to the forefront in our world/society, and it is our job as teachers to not deny, but yet embrace technology in the classrooms. How can I find ways as the teacher to incorporate more technology into the classroom?  Many educators feel as though our students (U.S.A.) are falling behind the rest of the world, because they are missing the skills that are needed on a global market.  Global awareness, media/technology skills, as well as innovation and creativity are just some of the skills that our students need and many districts/schools are just sticking to teaching our basic core subjects. 

This activity was an enjoyable activity for me personally, because I was able to share with my thoughts and opinions on the current state of education and where I see education headed towards with fellow classmates. I was also able to hear great ideas from my peers that made me think and reflect upon current issues as well as work collaboratively to reach beneficial questions for the rest of the class.  I also enjoyed the fact that we were then able to add to other group’s thoughts/questions, and by doing so, maybe this allowed our peers to reflect more upon their work.  It was interesting to see what other classmates thought about our questions, and their tips or recommendations to add to our thoughts.  I have always believed that it is more beneficial to have others read over and offer opinions to improve upon one’s work.  It is always great to hear from others, because many times someone else may see or be able to add to something you wrote that will enhance your knowledge base.

I believe it would be harder for our group to elevate our own questions, because once you come to a group consensus on an answer, you have to believe that your answer is the best possible option at the time.  You would not write an answer that was poorly worded or lacked substance if you have pride in your work.  I feel as though you always try to put forth your best effort, ideas, and thoughts into your answers, and to go back and try to raise the quality of the answer/question, would be difficult.  If you believe your question properly reflects your group’s mindset, then why would you want to change your question/answer?

There was a direct connection between this activity and educational leadership for a number of reasons. For one, each group I’m sure had group members that took charge and were more authoritative in their sharing approach.  Usually during collaborative assignments, there is at least one group member who tries to lead or steer the group in the right direction.  There are always some group members that are apprehensive about sharing their ideas and while they may have great ideas, usually the vocal leaders have their ideas used more often.  Another reason would be that to be a good leader in my opinion, you must be able to take constructive criticism, and be able to adjust, and adapt ideas to meet the needs of others.  All of your thoughts/opinions may not always be the best idea as a whole, and a good leader must realize this.  Leadership in education requires you to be able to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create all the time!  This assignment made us reflect on Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy and these skills are a great guideline tool for all educational leaders.