- Principles of Learning and Teaching - Required book: Teach to Change the World
- English methods - Required books: Bridging English, When Kids can't read, Time for Meaning
- Technology and social changes- Required books: Use Technology Wisely, The New Meaning of Educational Change
- Problem solving and Cooperative Learning- Required books: Schools and Society, and Modelling with technology.
The most interesting is that all of the content of the books are overlap and related to teachnology use, pedagogy and educational change. These books have provided me a bond grounding for my study and research. I wish I had more time to read them deeply. But then, I remember Bomer' saying in Time for Meaning something like "Say you're destroyed by time as if say you're drowned with the air. Time just is. The problem is we know how to control and manage the time: We should have a clear purpose". So, I shouldn't complain any more about time.
When reading the books, I also find myself lack of the histories/theories of learning and teaching. I hadn't realize that learning/teaching change arise from the actual need of the society/current situation, such as In the World War 2, solders had to learn how to read and do math, instead of teaching any other skills. In presence, what does our society need?- To keep pace with the development of technology and other improvements in science and lives, to prevent global warming, to maintain culture and respect diversity, to fight against social injustice and inequity, to spread out the democracy and fight for peace. So, why don't we teachers integrate such issues into curriculum. They would say, Yes we know, but we need time and efforts and burget, and so on... But if we don't start right now, when will we start?
