ESSENTIAL QUESTION: WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES IN SHIFTING CONTENT FROM “WHAT” TO “WHERE” AND “HOW”?In this day and age I don't think we can live in a world that just asks "what", or in other words students are just learning facts. Everyone needs to make connections and understand how things are related. We need to fit our knowledge into our own niche of the world. That is where we can accomplish so much. We attach meaning, and this meaning is transferable to life outside of the classroom walls. (McCarthy, 2015) I think PBL or design thinking can provide the basis for this type of transferable knowledge. Wolpert-Gawron (2015) talks about an integrated unit she has taught where "there are many components to the unit: brainstorming, research, development, design, cost analysis, collaboration, and pitching. They are using art, writing, math, science, and probably countless other elements that focus on real-world content and communication." These types of units combine so much and really get students to see how all subjects are connected. We are accessing the "where" and "how" instead of only accessing the "what". Students also are learning by doing and "learning by doing can provide a unique and personal set of insights into the ways and means for creating something in the world" (Thomas & Brown, 2011). Quirky.com was mentioned by Wolpert-Gawron (2015) as a way to connect student inventions to others interested allowing for collaboration and improvement. This can really help students to find ideas or to get help from others in making their idea better. This allows them to see that others care about what they are doing. It provides a human connection where a worksheet would not provide this. Another way to encourage this type of transferable knowledge is to incorporate student interest. "Children and teens produce volumes of content through social media, such as YouTube, podcasts, Minecraft, and Twitch. Some earn money in the process. For their passions, these youths generate a following and join others as they establish and extend social networks. When these same content authors and entrepreneurs enter schools, all that they know and can produce is set aside. Yet when they leave school, they collect skills left outside and reconnect with their real-world networks" (McCarthy, 2015). So much talent is wasted when we don't allow students to show us what they know and to maybe even let them teach us. Teachers can learn just as much as students if we allow ourselves to not feel like we have to be the bearer of all of the knowledge. We need to show students how to think, not just teach them facts. "In the new information economy, expertise is less about having a stockpile of information or facts at one’s disposal and increasingly about knowing how to find and evaluate information on a given topic" (Thomas & Brown, 2011). The information is out there and we can access it at our fingertips. McCarthy (2015) gives a quote from her 5th grade son that sums up why students need to have access to lessons that allow them to interact with a world outside of the school walls. Her son says "Why do they (teachers) keep talking about the real world out there? This is my real world." Sources
McCarthy, J. (2015, September 09). Student-Centered Learning: It Starts With the Teacher. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/student-centered-learning-starts-with-teacher-john-mccarthy Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change [Kindle]. Wolpert-Gawron, H. (2015, March 03). Collaboration: Key to Innovation. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/collaboration-key-innovation-heather-wolpert-gawron
6 Comments
2/25/2017 11:55:29 am
I think one of the obstacles for using project-based learning is that there needs to be some prior knowledge and familiarity in order to proceed. I am all for making learning tactile and real, but there are only a specific set of content areas that this applies to. I think schools would benefit from making learning mathematics interdisciplinary. It would make more sense to learn about quadratics in math while students study motion in physics. You ask science teachers about how they solve problems involving math and you get a different response than a math teacher solving a similar problem in math class. I think too often math teachers focus on the “beauty” of mathematics and don’t focus enough on the “applicability” of mathematics. There is a huge difference. I don’t think science teachers worry about factoring quadratics to solve an equation about motion. They find solutions to a specified degree of accuracy. The square root of 2 is “beautiful” for a mathematician, but 1.414 will be suffice for a scientist. We need to have more collaboration between disciplines and not treat them like singletons where what we teach in math is more important than the same math in other fields. Math is everywhere, we need to teach it in the content area that it applies to, and not reserve it for a special "trig" class, or "financial math" class. Just my opinion.
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Sara Lucas
2/26/2017 10:25:27 pm
I think the problem you are referring to with PBL is that students need to learn to think on their own. That can be the biggest obstacle is that students don't know where to start because this type of learning is not spoon fed to them. I agree that interdisciplinary would really be awesome. I feel like I spend so much time teaching about other things like how to do the math, formatting a paper, or even just being able to read a source the student finds. It would be great if the structure of classes allowed for student to learn all subjects all day long and to not have specific classes. I can only do so many projects due to a lack of time. Class is too short. I also agree that different disciplines have slightly different approaches. It would be great to rotate through different teachers but to be focused on all disciplines with a teacher for a 1 project, and then move on. I'm not sure if my ideas are making a lot of sense, but I think the idea of interdisciplinary units is great!
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Jule
2/25/2017 03:00:32 pm
I love that you say we need to teach them how to think. This is so important and in my school I still see teachers expecting their students to learn by just throwing information at them. At the end of the day, we should be giving them the skills to move forward to eventually understand the concept and not teach the concept expecting that will make them move forward.
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Sara Lucas
2/26/2017 10:26:29 pm
So true!! The biggest issue with implementing PBL is that students don't know what to do first. They have a lack of confidence and feel that their way cannot be correct. When in fact any idea could work as long as they can explain it.
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2/26/2017 12:53:29 pm
I really like how you talk about student interest. I found an article from edutopia that does give some nice examples of how to incorporate student interests into lessons. I would really encourage you to read it; one example that it had was to allow a student to build a model of a home on Minecraft. It tapped into his interests and he enjoyed the project. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/differentiated-instruction-learner-interest-matters-john-mccarthy
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Sara Lucas
2/26/2017 10:31:02 pm
I read the name at the end and felt like I had read an article by him. Turns out I did this week. That is where I also got my idea on student interest. I know that I love making movies or messing with other technology things and I could do it for hours. Tapping into this interest really extends learning. Thanks for sharing the extra article!! I have really wanted to try menus and hope to soon.
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