| "Situated Cognition" | Eisner | Vygotsky | Gee |
| Bereiter & Scardamalia | Postman |
Readings of the Second Semester
Class Activity |
Reflection on Reading |
||||||||
| Read an
acrostic poem capturing the main ideas of this article |
Situated
Cognition After reading this article, I was encouraged by the description of learning as a combination of tools, activity, and culture. A strong message in this article focused on the simple concept, "understood through use". Tools, well-defined objects, symbols, and concepts all play a major role in this idea. When tools are used, students build a deeper understanding of the world and of the tool itself. And, by consequence, they learn about the community and the culture. Through authentic activities, teachers can engage students in "apprentice-like" tasks to increase learning and application. This brings together what is learned and what is used. As I look ahead to the spring semester, I see this theme--the interdependence of activity, culture, and tools--weaving in and out of our studies. |
||||||||
| View a
series of poems summarizing Eisner's themes |
Eisner's Cognition and
Curriculum Reconsidered Eisner continues the discussion from Situated Cognition. In Cognition and Curriculum Reconsidered, Eisner takes on curriculum and the need for traditional curriculum to change. Literacy is at the core of his argument. Eisner defines literacy as the "ability to encode and decode" meaning. Students can use many cultural elements and representations around them; however, teachers need to develop students' ability to find meaning in those representations. Eisner promotes problem-based learning, thinking tools, and the imagination. In fact, Eisner describes the kindergarten classroom as the ideal learning environment. In kindergarten, senses are heightened, imagination is employed, and exploration is unhampered. Then something happens in first grade. Literacy, in terms of basic understanding and the three R's is taught. Students are expected to recite and imitate the teacher, and there is a level of seriousness that enters the classroom. I was struck by Eisner's nostalgia for kindergarten. Furthermore, the nostalgia presents a simple premise that such an enlightened learning environment that can be brought into each classroom. Students should be empowered with the tools and ability to create their own meaning. |
||||||||
| Vygotsky's Mind in Society In Vgotsky's Mind in Society, I was fascinated by the concept of the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD). As I understand, the ZPD is the distance between a student's current learning level and the level that can be reached with the help of collaboration, coaching, interaction, and manipulation of symbols. In teaching seventh and eighth graders, I often see students developmentally hitting a wall. They get to a point that they can not get past without some kind of intervention. For example, I see this with organizational issues and seventh grade boys. Homework is lost. Distractions abound. And then, generally speaking, something happens between seventh and eighth grade, and those same awkward, dishelved boys have pulled it together with some order. What happens over that summer is a combination of things--development, some maturity, physical growth, help from others, and an awareness to do for oneself. |
|||||||||
| View the presentation, Why Video Games Have a Place in the Classroom |
Gee's What
Video Games Have to
Teach Us About Learning and Literacy With the first researchers we read this semester, we listed key terms for each work. So, I have started to do that with subsequent books. For Gee's work, What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy, I listed the following:
In his account, Gee gives a lot of credit to video games and simulations. Within game playing there is a semiotic domain in which kids participate, collaborate, and learn. Importantly, within these domains, kids learn how to build meaning. Gee would classify this as active learning, and this is a good thing. Kids are engaged! However, there are opportunities in video game playing for students to move from active learning to critical thinking. To do this, students begin to think about their domain as a complex system, which is real world. There are more advantages to video games, including kids learning that there are multiple solutions to a problem. Similarly, students can practice and redo without penalty and while learning is taking place. Video game playing is "reflective practice". It is the process of probing, hypothesizing, reprobing, and rethinking. Similar to Vgotsky, students learn through play. They determine rules, test them, and figure out how to move to a higher level. All along the way, students' knowledge is being rewarded. This was an interesting book as we continue to examine meaning with different symbol systems and experiences. |
||||||||
| Read the profile of an "expert" |
Bereiter and Scardamailia's Surpassing Ourselves: An Inquiry into the Nature and Implications of Expertise Bereiter and Scardamailia explore the topic of expertise and what defines an expert. Simply, an expert is a person that moves beyond basic learning, factual information, and natural ability. In class, we discussed two issues in relation to this term of expertise--how does one become an expert and how does one teach expertise. To better understand how an expert learns, Bereiter and Scardamailia describe two knowledge-building schemas. First, the non-expert will look for the best fit--to fit new knowledge into an existing structure or what is already known. On the other hand, the expert recognizes that there is a fit but still a lot to learn (168). Therefore, teachers need to build learning communities that challenge students to think and move beyond factual information. Students need to constantly pursue knowledge building and problem solving opportunities. Simulations are just one way to move the classroom to this expert society promoting "reinvestment of mental resources", "progressive problem solving", creativity, and "active wisdom". I find a lot of inspiration in that description. |
||||||||
Postman's The Disappearance of Childhood This was my favorite book of the semester. While I did not agree with many of Postman's premises, they made me think of various mediums, particularly TV, and how they shape the social, moral, and intellectual development of children. As well, I enjoyed the historical portrayal of childhood. It was the printing press that reinstated childhood, and it is now TV (and I believe Postman would add the Internet) that has caused its disappearance. According to Postman, there is no longer any protection for children. They are exposed to all that adults are exposed; however, with children they do not fully understand the content. Children rely on the television as an authority, and information is presented unfiltered and instantaneous . While I do not disagree with the reliance of today's youth on television and the Internet for information and entertainment, I am not willing to accept the diminished role of the parent, teacher, and printed material in a child's life. In fact, as a teacher, it is clearly my role to assist children in being good users of information (theme of semester one!) and to become more literate in decoding information. |