Reality Pedagogy and PL by Jill Pellegrini

Reality Pedagogy: Christopher Emdin at TEDxTeachersCollege (2012)

jpellegrini2 — 2018-06-27 23:42:37 UTC

What connections have you made between the content of Ted video and the practices of PL?

jpellegrini2●1m

Summer Kennedy

2020-05-05 02:21:37 UTC

Reality Pedagogy

Content: knowing you don't know all the answers

smehnert1 — 2020-09-23 19:53:14 UTC

I learned this lesson in my student teaching. A co-teacher told me you don't have to know all the answers, it is ok to say "I don't know, let's find out together." In the video he talks about how we use all of these words that really don't mean anything. By allowing students to know you don't know everything but we can learn or find out together is very powerful and it gives them power to go out and find answers and teach others. They also might know the answer because of their different background, culture or experience and it makes them the expert and the teacher the learner.

Molly Childerston

2021-02-12 20:39:20 UTC

The idea that I carry can be carrying “white guilt” and then dropping it on my students, thus smooshing them was a very powerful image for me. I believe this links back to PL in regards to truly learning, understanding, and inviting a student’s socio cultural background into your classroom. Instead of assuming I am “hitting on” a student’s culture, I can know I am if I allow and invite them to bring it and share it personally, as the teacher, into our classroom.

Abigail Duncan

2021-04-18 03:19:44 UTC

The seven (or five, in the video) “C”s help students feel like not only do they belong in the classroom but that the classroom belongs to them in some sense. This is especially apparent with the co-generative dialogue, co-teaching, and cosmopolitanism strategies where the students get to take on some of the roles and responsibilities of the teacher. The other strategies focus on getting to know the students on a very deep and personal level. All of these are connected to personalized learning in that students have voice and control over their classroom and their learning and both are based on who the students are and what each individual needs.

Kristi Cushman

2021-07-07 23:36:49 UTC

One big 'ah-ha' moment I had when listening to Chris Edmin was when he was talking about the various "C's" and came to the last one - Content. It was profound to hear him speak about Content being the LAST "C" and how that's not typical in education. We usually start with Content...what am I going to teach my students? It reminded me of my first year of teaching and how I had fully assumed before I began that year that I'd be teaching ART...that was my content area. But not far into that year I realized that teaching was SO much more than the content. I was teaching kids how to be citizens in my classroom - I was teaching them civility and perseverance...not just art. Edmin said that Content is the last "C" because we will never be able to teach our content unless we understand our students "other C's"...if we don't get their Context, where they are coming from, the Content won't follow. Personalized Learning follows this same principle...we need to know the student, REALLY KNOW them and what their needs are before teaching them Content.

Reflection-Svaja

2021-11-23 16:31:39 UTC

Christopher Emdin brings up many important points of what us teachers need to keep in mind and implement in our classroom. I don't want to ruin the opportunity for students to express their cultures in my classroom. Understanding our students is a lot more than providing a certain day of the month or year for students to share about their cultures. We have to get to know their lives beyond the education setting. We can't assume things about our student performance and be filled with white guilt. We need to embrace reality pedagogy as he talks about. We have to experience education through out students' perspective, not our perception of their culture. We don't always know what our students need, and we need to push ourselves as educators to find out and meet them where they are at with what they need.

Connections

shalesestroup — 2023-05-24 20:56:09 UTC

I really like everything being broken down to being in C's. These can help so much with PL. Being able to understand students is so important with these. Being able to incorporate all the C's will directly make PL happen within the classroom. Students struggle to make the connections to the classroom content. If they are able to bring in some of their environment into the classroom then students will be more willing to engage in the content they may not "like". One time when I was teaching a Financial Literacy course I did use many of these C's and PL without knowing about them (until now). Students were asked to bring in budget information from their families or for themselves. Or they could create their own scenario that they would like for after they graduated HS. They worked on these projects for a few weeks, supported each other and then presented their findings. Some came to the realization that they couldn't stay working and McDonald's in the same position without moving up for the rest of their lives if they wanted to be able to live the life they had dreamed up. Some were also surprised about their career choice and how much money it made in different cities. They learned so many skills, supported each other, and I was there to be that mentor and guide through the experience asking questions about food, transportation, phone, electricity, etc. that sometimes they forgot about with their budgets. One thing I could have worked on better was the Co-Generative Dialogue

Cogen Groups

jsteph2 — 2023-07-21 18:55:40 UTC

I was very fortunate to actually get to see Dr. Emdins in person when he was visiting DPS.
He is a very inspiring and new voice in the discussion around pedagogy in general but also in his belief that teaches (especially white teachers like me) need to provide opportunities to co create spaces, rules, and content in the classroom. I have done some of this work with behavior and the kids always have way better ideas about what should happen in the classroom and how we can make our classroom a more equitable place. That said, it made me think of my own PBL journey and how much "Choice" students have in the design and implementation of the project. I am wondering about my own flawed beliefs that I need to do most of the planning of the unit. Is it because I haven't created the tools that the kids need to work successfully and work through group dynamics? Is the lack of work completion because I still haven't spent enough time hearing the kids out on what and how they want to learn? The good news is I am at least on the right path with doing some PBL in my room but I have many miles to go before I sleep...

2024-03-20 17:03:22 UTC

I want to be my students champion. I want them to know I care about them and that they are loved because it is only after a student's brain can say they are safe and loved can students begin to learn.

sneville23 — 2024-07-30 20:41:52 UTC

I'm in a unique classroom setting in which my students have not found success within the traditional school setting. It will be critical for my students to understand that they are safe and supported within my classroom to take risks and even fail and that I will continue to be their cheerleader. I want and need to be a champion for them so that they can feel loved and safe and only them will they begin to learn.

2026-05-27 15:21:15 UTC

Emdin’s TED Talk connects to Personalized Learning First Grade because both focus on relationships, student voice, and honoring students’ identities. Emdin explains that students learn best when teachers value their experiences and culture. In Personalized Learning First Grade, teachers build strong relationships, create supportive classroom communities, and personalize learning to meet students’ needs and interests. Both approaches focus on helping students feel seen, respected, and successful.

2026-07-18 19:17:48 UTC

Something that stood out for me was the idea of Cosmopolitanism, where students become full active citizens of the classroom and rather than prioritising intelligence and test-taking, the priority becomes a family of learners working together to succeed. I love this idea.