Blog #7

What Can We Learn About Teaching And Learning From Randy Pausch?

 

 

 

         This week, we had the privilege to watch a fantastic video about achieving our childhood dreams, with speaker Randy Pausch. Randy was a former computer science and virtual reality professor from Carnegie Mellon University battling pancreatic cancer. In knowing that it was a terminal illness, and time was of the essence, he delivered a highly inspirational lecture entitled "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". I would first like to point out how incredible it felt to watch him speak! This man was basically on his last leg in life, but he kept such a positive outlook and was so optimistic about everything life had to throw at him! I envy him to no end, because I know if I was faced with a tough roadblock in life, I wouldn't know how to handle it. This was the absolute most redeeming video I've ever had to watch. It taught me so much about life, and I am so glad that Dr. Strange had us watch it. I've included a link to the video so anybody can take time out and watch it. It is worth every minute. The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

 

         In the video, Randy went on to talk about his adventures in life, and how sometimes he ran into "brick walls" that inhibited him from pursuing his dreams easily. He explained that those brick walls were there for a reason, and when we are faced with them, we have to make a choice, but to more so look deep within ourselves. His simple remedy for that was to keep in mind that if you genuinely wanted something in life that bad, then you would break all barriers (including the brick wall) to get to that dream in some way. If you did not make the effort to break the wall, then it is simple, you did not want that dream bad enough. From experience, I know exactly what he means. I have been faced with big, fat, brick walls, especially in college. But being persistent and slow to irritate, I have accomplished so much, academically and personally. He reiterates that if anything, those brick walls should further motivate us to chase our dreams, and that it should motivate just about anybody to make that brick wall tumble by just working hard for what's on the other side. If we can teach our future classroom the importance of persistence like Randy points out, we can be sure that our kids will carry that philosophy with them for the rest of their lives.

 

         Randy then went on to explain the importance of "head fake". Yes, I know, it sounds like a ruse teachers use to trick kids into learning something, but it is the total opposite. For a good example of head fake, think about football. When you register your children (or future children) into a football team, the football coaches teach them to throw, pass, tackle, and the list goes on. Most of the time, the kids get good at it when they play and end up enjoying it. But, what the kids are not particularly aware of is that they are also learning the value of teamwork, sportsmanship, responsibility, perseverance, etc. I would love to use EDM310 as another perfect example of head fake. Sure, we have all these projects to do, and some of us may be a little apprehensive to do some of the work, but when we take the time to look back at what we've really learned, we can become satisfied. We've learned to make and edit videos, write blogs, work with groups, and some life lessons too like time management, flexibility, and other useful things needed to be a teacher. The same goes for classrooms of all kinds. As long as we can take Randy Pausch's head fake theory with us to our future classrooms, children get out of the class a great deal of general knowledge as well as life's lessons that will stay with them the rest of their lives!. That's what a head fake is, learning more than you originally bargained for, but it is worth it in the end.

 The most important thing that Pausch talks about in his lecture is the idea of not learning by the books alone, but by learning through one's own efforts. In other words, doing more hands-on learning and finding things out on your own. It can be fun and rewarding, and he explained that learning through fun mediums can help you learn the absolute toughest subject if you play your cards right. He taught in that way to his virtual reality class that he designed himself, and the results were astounding. He showed the audience a clip of a girl from his class using the virtual reality headset and creating a "world" for the little creatures, and he told us that the kids did that on their own and was excited to show other people. He also explained that it is imperative to ask questions or get with people who are just as lost as you are in a subject and try to work together to figure it out. Being alone while trying your hardest to understand something is not where anybody should have to be. EDM310 definitely teaches us that, and so far I've gotten more out of this class than every single class that I've taken in college, because it is so hand-on and allows us to figure things out on our own. I hope to somehow implement this technique in my classroom so that it will show kids that they are smarter and more motivated than they think they are, and will challenge them to be more productive human beings.

 

       All-in-all, Randy Pausch gave us some incredible tips about learning and teaching, and it really opened my eyes to new methods. How can I say no to someone so wise as an actual professor himself. He didn't get where he was in life by pure luck, he got their using this own theories and a little bit of hard work. Students and educators alike should take his advice and run with it, and run far in life.