Edification
Memory has been a subtopic for me and quite a number who also wrote about it for Ed Psych 606. Caroline Speer from Detroit Country Day sparked some thoughts in me about rote memory and factual knowledge when she said she doesn’t require historical dates from students since with on-line resources these dates are now always at our fingertips. The first chord this struck with me is that thought—not fact—is the objective of a history class, and memorizing dates and facts crowds out higher order thinking. Second, as I mentioned in class, the engagement with history is so enhanced by the Internet as a reference resource, that it more than compensates for less emphasis on memory: one ends up knowing more of history, be it facts or ideas. And the ready reference reinforces long-term memory content.
Jen Semanco of the Catherine Ferguson Academy was amazing, and really drove home to me the difference high school teachers can make in a student’s life. Yolanda and Chelsea spoke about the school as well, which showed how the Academy itself has made a difference in Detroit. It is always good to hear good things about Detroit, about kids there being given a chance in life, about the greening of Detroit. Like the vegetables in the Academy’s garden, we dream of a blossoming as well of the city we love.
What sticks with me most of all, however, is something George Williams said about kids being distracted by cellphones and music in the classroom. He was very intent upon ensuring the student’s focus in the classroom. One thing I liked about the program this summer was that the professors did not hesitate to allow us silent work time in the classroom, be it reading or writing, and I really value the opportunity to work in class independently and without distraction. What motivates George to create and safeguard this mental space for his students is clearly a very deep concern for others. I detected in this a connection to his former calling.
This post refreshes my memory about the special kind of engagement that our visitors had with all of you (and vice versa). It was so much fun to watch the conversation start to flow in multiple directions, and it left me with lots of takeaways.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the speakers today as well. I was fascinated with the spectrum of speakers and the technology at their disposal. One had all the technology she could handle, another had some, but it was lost and then it was up to him to supplement his classroom with his own. Finally one had none and had to fight for technology, but not against the system, but her own principal who saw computers as glorified typewriters...they were not bad, just why did she actually need them.
ReplyDeleteTechnology moves by leaps and bounds and in reality we just cannot keep up...I think the new question really is, can we keep up? I was told one time the computer I am buying was out of date by at least 6 months when I finally bought it...really, I am already that out of date...geez..
I really hope my mentor in the fall uses a lot of technology...not because I have some burning desire to learn it all, because that will probably never happen, but because I want to see how technology can augment my students' learning. What can I use and how can I use it so my students can learn...I remember in 606 us talking about the point that short term memory gets overloaded and we process slower...wow, did I just call people computers, and agree. Why is history important, not when did it actually happen is the relevant path here...after all, we can refer to the internet as the source of when...
In the end, any computer is only as good as the person that programed it, well, at least for now...
It is amazing how all of our life experiences play into our teaching philosophy. I had not considered that George's previous engagements might lead him to is views on cell phones in the classroom. Excellent insight!
ReplyDeleteRegarding Caroline's not requiring her student's to know dates...
Here I am at 31 and I WANT to know these dates. I feel like they set the context of events. I am not sure what to make of this. I certainly did not want to memorize dates in high school....but now I do....what do you make of this?
For me, the difference between my attitude in high school and now toward learning facts is mainly that I did not realize before I started memorizing what abilities it afforded me. I think that dates are part of a broader phenomenon of having specific factual historical knowledge, that really is the sole basis for understanding and reflection on history. So often my version of events gets a reality check when I look into the facts.
DeleteCatilina's "conspiracy" to take over Rome is an example. I had read it was a cult that practiced human sacrifice and how arrogant and manipulative Catilina was. I said in class that Catilina was apparently a very evil man. The professor noted that this was not necessarily true. I had been reading Cicero--Catilina's establishment archenemy--but then I read Sallust's history and discovered that Catilina was at the head of a revolutionary youth movement who at his tragic death exhibited astonishing courage.
The dates involved are insignificant. And the factuality of Sallust's version is not guaranteed. But the more you know the more you understand.