From the Perspective of a Teacher:
Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin
Ever read a book that just seems to get it? Seth Godin’s Tribes does just that. This is a book that came up during the Blackboard conference in July 2009 and can be applied to everyday living without preaching to you. Not only is it a quick read at less than 150 pages, it is pertinent to parents, teachers, employers… anyone that is responsible for someone in this world.
Since I help teachers teach online, let’s look at it from the teachers’ perspective. Teachers teach. That is what we do. How we do it though is changing. Students are demanding more than a talking head behind a Smartpodium reading from their PowerPoint. It isn’t that students want to be entertained, ok, maybe a little, but they also want to see how what you are teaching them is relevant to their world. Why should they learn something that they will never use again? Our job is to help students to find that relevance. To do this, we need to lead them, not like a manager, parent, or guidance counselor. We need to inspire them to learn.
Inspiration does not mean you need to preach. We are teaching to students that learn by collaboration. They network, tweet, communicate constantly. They work as a community when it comes to learning. It is high time we realized this and help our classroom community by providing it with focus. Our learning community is like a tribe, it needs a leader. As a teacher, you are that leader.
Bring your tribe together during that first meeting, whether it is face-to-face or online. We call these icebreakers. Now it is time to go beyond icebreakers and build your tribe by providing them with a foundation to connect with your topic – whether it is math, English, biology, or psychology, give your students a way to connect to each other and at the same time bring your subject to life.
For instance, during that first online discussion, have students introduce someone that has had an impact in your subject that they can use to draw inspiration. If it is physics, maybe they chose Sir Isaac Newton. If English, how about James Joyce? For biology, maybe it is Louise Pasteur. What about this person inspires them? Maybe it is as simple as wanting to be knighted (physics) or drinking milk (Pasteur). Who cares! They have found a way to relate who they are to what they are learning. Provide students with a list of potential people, scientists, inventors, writers – whatever is relevant to your topic.
Don’t just be a bystander, jump in and participate! Students learn by example. Set that example as their leader. Respond to some of their posts; be a part of the tribe. As their leader your students will look to you for guidance. And as their leader, they will look to you to lead.
Who is leading your tribe? Are they leaderless? Learning can be fun, relevant, and educational. Are you up to the challenge? If you need ideas just stop by DLF. Learn how to bring your students together, help them to collaborate. Move beyond discussions and content that can be copied from the web to content that requires students to identify, explain, and critically think outside of the box. For inspiration during your down time, take a look at Seth Godin’s book Tribes. If you don't have a copy, stop by the Distance Learning and Faculty Development Department (DLF) and borrow ours. Use the internet, publisher web sites, and animations online are tools. Provide your tribe with the tools they need to survive, to the end of the semester and beyond.
