Dewey + "Ed Tech" was an interesting read for me since I had already glanced at Farrah's blog about it, but decided not to read all of her imagined conversation with Dewey until after I was done reading. In the end, this reflection of Dewey provided a middle ground for me to stand on and agree with after reading for EDUC Foundations yesterday the "Roots of Education". In that reading, I found myself not fully relating to any particular philosophy of education. Here, I really like Dewey's connection of experience and the role of the student in their own active learning, but also the essential role the teacher plays in "monitoring student experience and step in where their knowledge is lacking." I think this resonated with me because I think it is ridiculous (or, as Dewey said, stupid) to think that providing a student with tools and resources is enough for them to learn. A teacher can be a facilitator, a guide in learning, but whatever role they play, a teacher is essential.
It was interesting for me to then read Dewey's Pedagogical Creed and see more flushed out his view points and philosophies. Some of the things that stood out to me were:
- the idea of preparing a child for future life -- not with specific knowledge necessarily, but with "command of himself."
- I think this is the biggest part of progressive educational theory that I resonate with -- the idea that you aren't simply feeding a student facts and formulas but rather teaching them how to use tools and resources by applying them to different situations in life
- that school should "exemplify current social living"
- This is important because I think it engages students with the outside world and shows them a little more of a glimpse of the reality that the world is not their small little bubble of school, home and friends, but rather that there is much more going on and they have a place in it all
- the role of the teacher is to select the influences that a child will receive, not to form the child's habits (and assist them in properly responding to influences)
- While I believe it is important for a teacher to shape some habits and techniques in students, its an interesting approach to consider that a teacher is "selecting influences" rather than just training habits or "banking" knowledge
- education is a continually reconstructive experience
- Education changes all the time, and the tennates and realities of what the curriculum is based on is ever changing... techniques change, best practices shift, and the education system continues to mold and shift to adapt to new developments, technologies, and information
Ok, off my complain train and onto the article. (for the record, Larry Page is a fine human and an asset to society.... which he made clear in his speech that was 90% about his career at Michigan and inventing Google and 10% about the graduates.... I am just jealous I didnt get a former or sitting president).
I enjoyed the chapter about Google and Wikipedia, as I think most people did. It was easy to read.... and it was talking about the majority of us. I will admit I was surprised to read that Google recieves much of the same flack and Wikipedia. I was aware of the unreliable nature of Wikipedia and how it was forbidden from my life throughout school, but I didnt realize that Google was plagued by the same fate. After reading the reasons why, I understand the arguments more, but have still never really encountered a significant problem with using Google or the resources it gives me.
Discussion of the "wisdom of the crowds" was interesting and logical to me, and seemed like probably the biggest "pro" that Wikipedia has going for it. Another things related to Wikipedia I was surprised about was that some professors prohibit the use of encyclopedias at all -- I have never heard that before! And interesting correlation (causation?) to Wikipedia.
I think that the most important thing to remember about Google and Wikipedia, which was emphasized in the article, is that they are good places to START - but a search should likely continue on further and more deeply than either of these sources.
as another pro the authors neglected, I wanted to point you to the Wikipedia game. You and a friend (or 4) mutually decide upon an item that you could find on Wikipedia. Anything. Then, you go to the wikipedia homepage and click "random article", each on your own computer, simultaneously. By only clicking links, and never using the "back" button, you are to navigate to the mutually decided upon item.
Example: Larry Page.
My random article to start: David Rosen (rabbi).
My path: David Rosen --> Ireland --> Continental Europe -->United Kingdom --> United Nations Security Council -->United States --> (sub heading of social media) --> web search engines --> google search --> Larry Page.
and it only took me 1 minute and 8 seconds.
I also find this to be a valuable outlet for the variety of youtube type clips I think are hilarious. I will do my best to relate them to class content but, that being said, perhaps they will just be an incentive for you to read and broaden your knowledge of funny or thought provoking videos, which will likely all come from SNL, Def Poetry Jam, or the Colbert Report (at least for now.)
Tuesday in 649, Kiwi made a comment during the conflict resolution exercise to the effect of "he keeps it cool." clearly, this video was what I immediately thought of.
What I learned? Obama only has one rule, and that is that he doesnt lose his temper.
Today in 695, we were discussing the V&V article and came across a reference to Zimbardo. Catherine asked if it was Philip Zimbardo (of Standford Prison Experiment fame) and I found the article cited in V&V on ERIC, and it was indeed that Philip Zimbardo. That automatically recalled to memory this hilarious video from the Colbert Report, where Colbert verbally slaps Zimbardo in their discussion of Zimbardo's book, "The Lucifer Effect."
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Philip Zimbardo | ||||
| ||||
What I learned? Colbert teaches Sunday School. I also think that some of what Zimbardo says is valuable (that you shouldn't conform mindlessly), but by and large, what I learned from Zimbardo is that shoe polish is not an effective hair/gotee coloring agent.
Grace & Peace,
Emily
That was a very impressive post. I especially enjoyed the first part where you talked about Dewey's general views on education. While the general facts and information that one learns through the course of a class can be useful I think most all of us would agree that the skills that the student picks up through studying these subjects is probably more useful and important than the subject itself. The real goal of education should be teaching students how to think and not what to think, and I think you touched on this very well in your post.
ReplyDeleteDid you get advertising money for the amount of references you made in this post? You seriously referenced at least four different corporations and/or people. Google, SNL, NBC, Stephen Colbert, Wikipedia, so I really hope they threw some money your way. Also, anytime you can mention Stephen Colbert in your blog post, you know it's going to be a good day.
ReplyDeleteWhile his experiment might be considered a little out there (see also: certifiably insane), Zimbaro's statement has some merit. You can't simply walk through life mindlessly, accepting everything for fact. Too often do we, as teachers, dictate what the students should know, and they simply accept it as the truth. Maybe this is a sign of our culture (in which case this post might last about 4 days), but the students don't want to work at all. They simply want the information given to them, and then they take it as fact.
This is the biggest plus of the Critical Modernist theory, something we discussed in Shari's class. People should never stop questioning what they see. But this also comes with a caveat. Questioning can happen so often that students don't take anything as fact, even when it is the truth. That's where learning stops and cynicism begins...and future Communists and Nihilists are born. But to quote one of my favorite movies (The Big Lebowski), "No, Donny, these men are Nihilists. There's nothing to be afraid of." Pat would probably kill me for lack of APA citation.