Blog Post #8

                                                               Randy Pausch Last Lecture:
                                                       Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

What can we learn about learning and teaching from Randy Pausch? 
   We were required to watch a video of Professor Paush's last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University as he died on July 25, 2008. The lecture was filmed Sept. 18, 2007, Mr. Pausch is an extremely optimistic man who has an amazing outlook on life.

    There is a key statement that he made that goes hand in hand with teachers. When someone stops correcting you when you do something wrong, they have already given up. As teachers, we must never give up on our students. Over anything said, this is the most important idea. I feel a student can sense when a teacher has officially given up on them, this demoralizes the students. Why would a demoralized student want to try anymore? His other key statement is "Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things"(Randy Pausch). If there was no boundary and things were handed to you, why would there be a reason to try? This is also true for learning, if we allow our students who face a wall to give up, they will never succeed. They must have an initiative to drive themselves to go further. Along with pushing your students, be aware with how you say something to them. The same statement s can be said multiple ways, you must always ensure that the way you say something to always make them feel supported.
He created a project based class that forced students to bond and push themselves to create new and original content. They required themselves to create VR worlds and have them working. The students would present them in front of the class every few weeks and then switch team mates and do it again. Soon the class presentations caught the attention of friends and family. After a while he needed to move to the largest room he could book. He is all about getting rid of text books in masters programs. In masters they should have read all they need to read and should be working on practical functions or learning. This is a key goal I feel our education department has failed at. The fact that we face classes that require outrageous requirements that once upon getting your  degree and into the field you are not expected to do what you were taught. He felt that the best way to equip the students is to give them real life experience.
   Final notes on his lecture:
 Always push your children to do more than they think they can.
They are the first to give up on themselves, so do not let yourself give up on them.
Always learn from your students and work well with your bosses.
"Decide if you're a Tigger or an Eeyore"(Randy Pausch)
 Remember who you are teaching, ensure that your projects focus on what is effective for learning in your class. Do not let your projects focus too greatly on girls or boys, above or average students.