The Wrong Way

On Friday we had a workshop at school that completely changed the way I want to teach. Call it a lightning moment. My own practice was honed on what is considered "best practice" and involves something called the zone of proximal development. Google it sometime to see what I mean. It's all about pushing students out of their comfort zone so they develop deeper analytical thought. Turns out it's not a great thing, or at least not the way I was taught it to be. Students should be able to get 80% of any assignment right according to new research based analysis. That's pretty much the opposite of zpd. Opposite everything I've been taught. And my reaction to this? Maybe I'm not a horrible teacher. Maybe I was taught something that isn't effective. My methodology is archaic, just like older teachers were taught rote instruction was best, and memorization over analysis was preferred. As a teacher, you always know that something new and better can come out. I mean, we look at older teachers and think they're doing things in an old fashioned (read bad) way. Now I realize I'm that teacher. I'm mad, relieved, exhausted, and worried all at the same time. Can I adapt to a new teaching methodology? Should I take some formal training? Would I now be able to successfully teach secondary education? One of the reasons I moved out of secondary we was the feeling that I was just a bad teacher. Perhaps I would still be a bad teacher. I love teaching esol, and whatever level I end up teaching, I think I'll try to stick with that, despite feeling like my own mastery isn't really, well, mastered. Fortunately for me, adult Ed provides me with a safe place to learn and grow. I will be experimenting with some new ideas soon.