环球英语 1218 Education Without Teachers
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Robin Basselin.
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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Sugata Mitra has a theory about education. He believes that if children are curious, if they have questions and a desire to know more, then they will learn. In fact, he believes that they will learn even if they do not have teachers. Today's Spotlight is on Sugata Mitra and his education theory.
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Mitra began to develop his theory when he was working in New Dehli. He worked for NIIT, a company that uses technology to improve education and training. His office was near a slum called Kalkaji. Kalkaji is an area of great poverty. Like other slums, it is dirty and the houses are in poor condition. Often, the children do not get a good education. And if the school is too far away, they do not get an education at all.
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Mitra's theory about education led him to think about the curious nature of children. And he thought about different ways to encourage the curiosity of children, even without teachers. This led him to his work with computers. He believes computers can help improve education in the developing world. He told The Guardian Newspaper,
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"There will always be places in the world where good schools do not exist. There will always be places good teachers do not want to go. Places with social and economic difficulties. So I look at how technology can improve young children's education, particularly through independent learning."
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Mitra decided to test his education theory. On January 26, 1999, he cut a hole in a wall of his office. This wall was in the direction of the slum. Then he put a computer in the hole and connected it to power. This computer was for the children of the community. He wanted to know if they would learn just by using a computer and the internet.
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This was the first time any of the children saw a computer. They did not know how to use it. No one showed the children how to use the computer. But the children became interested in the computer very quickly. The children explored the computer. And without any help, they discovered how to use it. The children's success surprised Mitra. So he repeated the experiment in other parts of India. He told The Guardian Newspaper:
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"The Hole in the Wall experiment proved something important. If you encourage individual learning and give children interesting questions to explore, then curiosity quickly starts the learning process."
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In 2001, NIIT started a new project with the International Finance Corporation. Together they called this company Hole in the Wall Education Limited. The purpose of this new company is to continue Dr. Mitra's work. Hole in the Wall Education Limited is spreading his experiment. There are now more than five hundred Hole in the Wall computers in India and Africa. Hole in the Wall Education Limited also studies the results of the experiments. Then they share their research.
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Since his work started in India, Mitra has moved to the United Kingdom. He is now a professor at Newcastle University. And he is thinking about new ways to use technology for education. But he continues his work in India by teaching a class over the internet. He hopes to do similar things in more areas of India. He hopes that children will learn so much that they can pass government tests - even if they do not have teachers!
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Because of the project's success, Mitra is planning more new experiments. His next project involves schools in the United Kingdom. He wants to see if students there can also learn new information without being taught by a teacher first. Can students find answers without any adult help at all?
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In this project, Mitra works with children ages 8 to 12 years old. When he visits a school he separates the children into small groups. Then he gives them difficult questions about science. Usually, not one of the students is able to answer his question. They have not learned about it yet in school. So Mitra tells the students to do their own research. He permits the children to work together. They may talk to other groups. They can even change groups. And the students can use computers. But their teachers do not help.
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Emma Crawley is a teacher at St. Aidan's school in England. Mitra has worked with students in her class. Now Crawley uses Mitra's methods when she teaches. When she teaches a new subject in science she lets the children research it first. In the Guardian newspaper, she gave this advice to other teachers who want to try this method.
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"You have to let go of control a bit. Trust the children. At first, they get excited and move around a lot. Noise levels rise. But then a calm atmosphere will develop. Try not to get involved."
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Mitra also believes his methods will help children think about their future. He says that by letting the children do their own research, they will learn about new jobs.
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"I use the internet to show the children unexpected heroes. I show them information about people working for NASA – the United States government space program. I show them material about people who give their time in Congo. Then I leave them to do their own research. I do not watch them. People expect the children to treat the technology badly. But they do not. After using the computers as few as 8 or 10 times, the children have new dreams about what to do with their lives."
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Sugata Mitra believes that technology is one way to bring the developed world and the developing world closer together. In a film about his work by the FRONTLINE/World news organization he said,
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"If cyberspace or the internet is considered a place, then there are people who are already in it, and people who are not in it ... I think the hole in the wall gives us a method to create an opening, like a door, through which large numbers of children can enter into this new area. When that happens, it will have changed our world forever."
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The writer and producer of this program was Courtney Schutt. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find this program and others on our website http://www.radio.english.net You c.an also find Spotlight on Facebook. Just search for 'Spotlight Radio'. This program is called "Education Without Teachers." We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
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