Teach! OK! WBT!

WBT? What a neat discussion forum topic we are covering over in PIDP 3250. WBT stands for Whole Brain Teaching. This is the first time I have ever heard of this teaching technique and I really like it! I think it brings back Fun and Joy into the classroom and could see in short spurts being really effective in my students remembering dry curriculum points. The majority of my fellow classmates hated this technique, some comparing it to Nazi brainwashing (that escalated quickly). One of my classmates, Angela, made some strong points by stating "I would challenge that this strategy conflicts with some (many?) of the principles of andragogy.....

• “As a person matures, his or her self-concept moves from that of a dependent personality toward one of a self-directing human being.
• An adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience, which is a rich resource for learning.
• An adult is more problem-centred in learning.
• Adults are mostly driven by internal motivation, rather than external motivators." (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 46).

Although I agree with her that it goes against/conflicts with andragogy principles...I still can't seem to stop thinking about how awesome it would be to take part in such a different type of class. Since I am an Adult and a learner...it makes me think there have to be other adult learners that may find a class like this really interesting as well. To be entirely honest I feel like people were so quick to "Nay-Say" this technique in the forum. They stated it made them feel uncomfortable so that means it couldn't possibly work for their students....but maybe it could.

Also Interesting...every classmate, that is also a Healthcare professional, found this teaching style unprofessional.... I must be missing something here. I'm also a healthcare proffessional...yet I don't see how trying this technique with my students would go against my professional obligation to mimic professionalism. Nowhere did it say this would be the only teaching technique day in and day out that you would use. I agree students model our behavior as professionals, yet I think we are doing our students and those they serve, a great dissatisfaction if we are not also modeling joy, vulnerability, thinking outside the box and encouraging the students to take risks and chances. I have a feeling Laughing Yoga wouldn't be considered professional either then...yet my past students loved it.

Teaching styles and techniques are always changing, 40 years ago computers weren't a thing in the classroom and now teaching students how to code is part of some elementary schools curriculum.

Ill leave you with a quote from my classmate, Shirley, "At the end of the day if the students are able to take what they have learned in class and apply it in the real world, that is what matters most".

Check out the WBT video below:

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