My graduate cohort seems to be having a love/hate relationship with the writings of Marc Prensky. In particular, some of my colleagues chafe at the idea that “Teachers must practice putting engagement before content when teaching." (p. 10) I am, quite frankly, a bit perplexed by the level of resistance to this idea. I wonder if this statement evokes for them images of style without substance. Armstrong and Warlick (2004) describe a whole new way of understanding curriculum and learning, where instead of simply writing, students must learn to express ideas compellingly (p. 26). It seems that Prensky is calling, in his own slightly irreverent way, for teachers to do the same. (2005, p. 10) I don’t walk away from Prensky’s writings with the impression that my expertise is not valued in the classroom; rather, I understand my responsibility to be both engagement and content. Gwen Solomon (2004) tells us, “To get people to read what you write or listen to what you present, the information has to be interesting, useful, and appealing.”(p.48) I know I had many bright, knowledgeable teachers as a student, and yet only a few stand out in my memory as exceptional educators. The difference: the most outstanding teachers reached in and called on my interests, passions, and experiences. As an undergraduate and student teacher, one of my lasting lessons of curriculum and instruction involved this same idea of engagement. I learned how student engagement plays a critical role in creating authentic learning. In my professional life, this truism continues year after year, class after class, lesson after lesson. Prensky (2005, p. 10) believes that teachers must “pay attention to how their students learn, and value and honor what their students know.” The National Educational Technology Plan (2010) believes much the same:
. . . effective teaching in the 21st century requires innovation, problem solving, creativity, continuous improvement, research, diagnostic use of data, and flexible and personalized approaches to meeting students’ diverse needs and strengths. As a result, the most effective educators are professionals with complex knowledge, expertise, and competencies, not merely deliverers of content and managers of well-behaved classrooms. (p. 39)
Although the tools and the techniques are evolving, what Prensky expects of teachers is not revolutionary, but long-established: to teach students, we must reach them.
Works Cited
Armstrong, S., & Warlick, D. (2004, September). The New Literacy: The 3R's Evolve into the 4E's. Technology and Learning , pp. 20-28.
Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.
Prensky, M. (2005, December). Listen to the Natives. Educational Leadership , pp. 9-13.
Solomon, G. (2004, June). E-Communications 101. Technology and Learning , pp. 48-60.
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