The Good
The slideshow gives useful suggestions and is broken down so the reader
can really get what they are looking for. I like that I can follow the
presentation without having somebody reading it to me.
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The Bad
This presentation is
very cluttered and does not necessarily deliver the message that the
title conveys. I had trouble following the presentation.
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Taking Learning Seriously - Reflection
While reading Lee S. Shulman's article, I had many of those "Aha!"
moments that are so hard to come by. The four pathology's that are
discussed include amnesia, fantasia and inertia.
I was pretty surprised to read about amnesia as being related to
education. Whenever someone has amnesia, I think of a hard blow to the
head that erases their memory. I never made the connection that
forgetting things over a period of time is a type of amnesia. I laughed
at this initially, because after completing my first year of teaching I
had some students who would give me real problems. I did not let this
bother me, I told them that in ten years they wouldn't even remember my
name. Personally, I can't remember what I specifically learned in
eighth grade. I can't remember my teachers names or even what my team
name was. I'm sure if I talk to an old classmate, someone would help me
to remember and this would erase my amnesia (at least temporarily). I
believe that with all the technology that is available to students out
there, there are multiple ways that we can help reduce educational
amnesia. By having students start making an E-Portfolio of their
educational careers at a younger age can help them keep track of what
they have done through their years in school. Keeping a detailed
history, almost like a blog, will force students to sit and reflect on
what they are currently learning. They may be able to make connections
between classes by seeing things written out on a computer, see some
type of progression and would gain greater interest in what they are
learning and where they could be going.
Fantasia is a pathology that I would associate with foreign language. I had taken 1 year of French in middle school. Needless to say, but I did poorly and did not want to continue. There were two phrases that were drilled into my brain and I knew I would never forget them. Well, years later I had not forgotten the phrases, but what they meant. I was trying to impress my friend Lisa, who was going to school to become a french teacher with my ability to say "Hi my name is Joe and I am from North Haven." I was so proud of myself for remembering something from that class. Lisa was not impressed and told me that I had said "I am hungry Joe and I I play North Haven." I still to this day don't want to believe I was wrong because I spent so many years thinking I was right trying to impress people with my French. I believe that Educational Technology could help students become more interested in what they are trying to learn. If it's a French class, have a student make a video about France or a famous french event. In my class, I would have to student make a website dedicated on a branch of engineering they are interested in. This would help them have a basic understanding of what they will need to know before they know it.
The final pathology that is discussed is Inertia. This was by far my
favorite because I see it in people all the time and often mistake it
for laziness or not trying. I never thought that peoples did not have a
problem solving ability that would harm their higher-order thinking.
Shulman's article mentions students who would "complain about how unfair
it was for teachers to test them on thing that had never been taught."
As a student I hated the kids how would say that. I would specifically
avoid working in group project with people like that because I thought
they were just whining. Now I understand that maybe these students were
not trained to think this way. I could use educational technology to
help students with something as simple as an interactive chart they need
to follow. I could possibly design an interactive graph to follow the
design process that I am required to teach.
After reading the article, I realized how little what an education really is and how our methods need to keep evolving like the technology we are using in the classroom. A symbiotic relationship between education and technology could create a much better learning experience for a student.