Challenges in shifting content.
So the biggest challenge I see is in the primary
grades. There are many subjects where
exploring and finding information is a great way to learn. However, students need to have basic skills
before being able to do so.
The example in the text A
New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant
Change about students finding Iraq on a map helped me understand what
exactly is meant by switching content from what to where. The first group was asked to locate Iraq on a
map and many couldn’t do it. The next
group was asked with access to a computer to find Iraq. They were able to find, show it on Google
Maps, and much more information. With
information being at everyone’s fingertips, it isn’t quite as necessary to
memorize everything. Being able to
figure out where to find the information is more important. Although, I do feel it is important that
students have a basic understanding of things.
For example, they need to know, without having to search, that Iraq is
not part of the United States. Of
course, there are methods of learning, though games for example, that could be
used to learn such things. A challenge is deciding what content should be
known by a person with a basic education and which content can be changed to
figuring out where to find it.
This, however, will not work for students just learning to
read. Of course there are many methods
to learn to read, but students do really need to know basic phonics. I am trying to figure out how to put learning
to read in the new culture of learning context.
Any ideas?
Learning things by memorizing, often is not enough to put
into long term memory. (How often do you
yourself, or someone you know, memorize something, only to have it be gone later?) John F. Kihlstrom states in his article “How
Students Learn and How We Can Help Them: that in order for long term memory “What's needed is what is known as elaborative
rehearsal, connecting up what we're trying to learn with what we already know.” He explains the learning things based
on earlier learning is a great way to help students learn things for the long
term. He also tells us that the more
effort that is put into learning something, the more it will be
remembered. (So, if we had to look for
the information ourselves, I think I would be more likely to remember it than
if someone just told me.)
This all goes along
with the famous Confucius quote “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” http://www.myrkothum.com/confucius-says-the-top-10-quotes-by-confucius/
So this is obviously
not new information. The challenge is to
put it to practice.
The section in our reading about having students locate Iraq using computers instead of simply locating it on a map caught my attention as well. When I look something up online, I find myself learning far more about the topics than I originally set out to learn. My students do the same thing when I ask them to research a topic. They end up learning far more than if they just sat and listened to me.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting reading about "Elaborative Rehearsal" in your blog. That is the basis for the way mathematics is typically taught. When I am teaching my high school kids math topics, I constantly make connections to the things they've already learned and I try to show them where the information will lead. It's wonderful when kids make the connections themselves. When they do this, they really do remember it longer and are able to recall information in greater detail. Since mathematics is constantly building on itself, elaborative rehearsal is a natural way to progress through the lessons. The challenge is providing rigorous questions and projects that still allow us to make it through all of the standards we are required to teach.
What an interesting anecdote about kids accessing the needed information! I've always known this concept, but I find it cool that you saw an example of it in real life. Cool! Reading is still definitely a necessity for using digital tools (which I'm still thankful for). However, I'm noticing that games for primary children use a lot of auditory and pictures. My 2 year old's favorite game right now is "Endless Alphabet." The letters make silly phonetic sounds when "picked up." My 2yo is learning to read! COOOOOOL! As time goes on, the tools become more elaborate. However, I'm glad that you're still taking to time to assess the tools and determine whether they are proper for the given situation.
ReplyDelete