I've recently run across several videos that I think would be awesome bell ringers or conversation starters for my kids.
This British advertisement about the power of words.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Reflections from Dewey-- Chapter 7
Here Dewey tackles the issue of how to organize content in a classroom. The traditional model is to box up concepts into subject areas or concrete units, and the progressive education seeks to combine subject areas in order to allow for connections and for learning to follow the students' natural curiosity. Dewey finds fault and possibility in both ways at looking at subject matter, which makes sense because this is, again, a situation in which a rejectionist philosophy doesn't work. It is important to consider your learning objectives when planning on how to chunk information.
"It is also essential that the new objects and event be related intellectually to those of earlier experiences, an this means that there be some advance made in conscious articulation of facts and ideas. It thus becomes the office of the educator to select those things within the range of existing experience that have the promise and potentiality of present new problem which by stimulating new ways of observation and judgment will expand the area of further experience."
"It is a ground for legitimate criticism, however, when the ongoing movement of progressive education fails to recognize that the problem of selection and organization of subject matter for study and learning is fundamental."
I'm going to reflect on the two quotes above together because I think they really sum up Dewey's perspective on organizing subject matter. On one hand, concepts have to have a relevant context and connect to previous experiences. Anything that's taught in a vacuum won't be learned. On the other hand, disciplines/movements/units exist for a reason-- they help us to intellectually organize ideas and concepts. So both ways of looking at concepts are important and it's up to the teacher to make critical decisions about how to organize lessons, instruction, and experiences.
"It is a sound educational principle that students should be introduced to scientific subject matter and be initiated into its facts and laws through acquaintance with everyday social applications."
I don't think this quote is as important as the previous, but I think it does a good job of illustrating Dewey's point. A science teacher would deny her students important learning opportunities if she didn't allow for her students to make connections to the social applications. But at the same time, students also need to understand how concepts are organized within their discipline. For example, when studying the classification of organisms, it seems like a natural connection to explore humans relationship with infectious viruses. If students didn't have the traditional science instruction, then the social connections might not make sense (I'm thinking of the impact of viruses and how antibiotics don't effect them... and then the social/political implications of that on the HIV/AIDS epidemic). The organization of traditional subject matter is important but equally so are the connections outside of the scientific discipline. (I actually think the word "connections" isn't strong enough... it makes it seem like an afterthought.)
"It is also essential that the new objects and event be related intellectually to those of earlier experiences, an this means that there be some advance made in conscious articulation of facts and ideas. It thus becomes the office of the educator to select those things within the range of existing experience that have the promise and potentiality of present new problem which by stimulating new ways of observation and judgment will expand the area of further experience."
"It is a ground for legitimate criticism, however, when the ongoing movement of progressive education fails to recognize that the problem of selection and organization of subject matter for study and learning is fundamental."
I'm going to reflect on the two quotes above together because I think they really sum up Dewey's perspective on organizing subject matter. On one hand, concepts have to have a relevant context and connect to previous experiences. Anything that's taught in a vacuum won't be learned. On the other hand, disciplines/movements/units exist for a reason-- they help us to intellectually organize ideas and concepts. So both ways of looking at concepts are important and it's up to the teacher to make critical decisions about how to organize lessons, instruction, and experiences.
"It is a sound educational principle that students should be introduced to scientific subject matter and be initiated into its facts and laws through acquaintance with everyday social applications."
I don't think this quote is as important as the previous, but I think it does a good job of illustrating Dewey's point. A science teacher would deny her students important learning opportunities if she didn't allow for her students to make connections to the social applications. But at the same time, students also need to understand how concepts are organized within their discipline. For example, when studying the classification of organisms, it seems like a natural connection to explore humans relationship with infectious viruses. If students didn't have the traditional science instruction, then the social connections might not make sense (I'm thinking of the impact of viruses and how antibiotics don't effect them... and then the social/political implications of that on the HIV/AIDS epidemic). The organization of traditional subject matter is important but equally so are the connections outside of the scientific discipline. (I actually think the word "connections" isn't strong enough... it makes it seem like an afterthought.)
Reflections from Dewey-- Chapter 6
In chapter 6, Dewey argues that in order for an experience to be educative, it must have a purpose. Forming a purpose involves an observation, knowledge of what has happened in similar situations in the past, and then a judgment which puts together what is observed and what is recalled. Dewey cautioned that progressive education has a tendency to overemphasize activity as an end, "instead of upon intelligent activity" because there is a "confusion of impulse with purpose." Dewey points out that traditional education, though, tends to overlook the importance of personal motivation or impulse in the learning process. Again, Dewey is using the best of traditional and progressive education in order to tease out a philosophy for true learning.
"There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying."
As I start to flesh out the projects for my PBL class this year, I'm finding this chapter helpful. I so want my PBL units to spark interest and the desire to learn in my students. But, I also want the units to be rich with learning and, of course, I want them to learn the content areas. I think one of my fears with student-directed learning is that they will skimp on the "real" learning. I mean, I see that all the time in my classroom-- students wanting to do the minimum, asking "will this be on the test?", not really learning, just faking it so that I'll leave them alone. I think that what I've got so far does give students the purpose for learning and "secures the active cooperation of the pupil in the construction of the purposes involved in his studying," but I worry about the amount of "intelligent activity" in my PBL classroom.
"A genuine purpose always starts off with an impulse... but observation is not enough. We have to understand the significance of what we see, hear, and touch."
This quote reminds me of Boss and Krauss's discussions about driving questions in their PBL books. It is so essential to drum up an impulse in students (and turning things in for a grade isn't the kind of impulse Dewey is talking about). I have to find ways of framing our units that will get my kids excited about their research and projects. I know in the ninth grade CDAT class that access to so many new and very cool technologies served as an impulse, but I also want there to be an impulse to read and write as well.
"The plan [for teacher-student interaction] is a co-operative enterprise, not a dictation... the essential point is that the purpose grow and take shape through social intelligence."
Teacher dictation doesn't serve as a good enough impulse; the students have to be invested in their learning and it's the teachers job to find ways to bring them into the learning. Throughout this PBL journey, I've read that students and teachers are learning together and I believe more and more that the days to teacher dictation are over.
"There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of the participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying."
As I start to flesh out the projects for my PBL class this year, I'm finding this chapter helpful. I so want my PBL units to spark interest and the desire to learn in my students. But, I also want the units to be rich with learning and, of course, I want them to learn the content areas. I think one of my fears with student-directed learning is that they will skimp on the "real" learning. I mean, I see that all the time in my classroom-- students wanting to do the minimum, asking "will this be on the test?", not really learning, just faking it so that I'll leave them alone. I think that what I've got so far does give students the purpose for learning and "secures the active cooperation of the pupil in the construction of the purposes involved in his studying," but I worry about the amount of "intelligent activity" in my PBL classroom.
"A genuine purpose always starts off with an impulse... but observation is not enough. We have to understand the significance of what we see, hear, and touch."
This quote reminds me of Boss and Krauss's discussions about driving questions in their PBL books. It is so essential to drum up an impulse in students (and turning things in for a grade isn't the kind of impulse Dewey is talking about). I have to find ways of framing our units that will get my kids excited about their research and projects. I know in the ninth grade CDAT class that access to so many new and very cool technologies served as an impulse, but I also want there to be an impulse to read and write as well.
Teacher dictation doesn't serve as a good enough impulse; the students have to be invested in their learning and it's the teachers job to find ways to bring them into the learning. Throughout this PBL journey, I've read that students and teachers are learning together and I believe more and more that the days to teacher dictation are over.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Reflections from Dewey-- Chapter 5
Chapter 5: The Nature of Freedom
Here Dewey contrasts the "problem of social control" with the nature of freedom. Already, in the first paragraph, I was intrigued because, as teachers, we spend so much time trying to control kids-- sit down, follow the rules, behave, turn this in, don't you want to go to college...-- but we never really think of the kids' freedom. Not that I think school should be anarchy, but students' freedom is an important thought and should be part of the conversation, if only because it changes the way I think about controlling students.
"The only freedom that is of enduring importance is freedom of intelligence, that is to say, freesom of observation adn of juedment exercised in behalf of purposes taht are intrinsically worth while."
"The commonest mistake made about freedom is, I think, to identify it with freedom of movement, or with the external or physical side of activity."
I can't help but think of King's "Letters from a Birmingham Jail" or Nelson Mandela or even St. Paul-- anyone who was imprisoned physically, but intellectual or spiritually free. Dewey, though, talks about it in the classroom-sense, that the we think the typical schoolroom's fixed physical nature puts restrictions on students' behavior. (If they are sitting neatly in orderly rows, then they must be thinking neat thoughts or behaving in orderly ways.)
"But the fact still remains that an increased measure of freedom of outer movement is a means, not an end. The educational problem is not solved when the aspect of freedom is obtained."
I have so much to say about this. YES! Just because you put organize your room in an unstructured, non traditional way, doesn't mean you are escaping from the bounds of traditional schooling. You can put kids in groups and they can still be doing a worksheet. And even if you give your kids free reign to explore whatever they want (moving in a progressive direction), they won't necessarily learn anything or obtain intellectual freedom. I think Dewey is very artfully again pitting the downsides of traditional education against the downsides of progressive education. Anything that teachers do without a critical lens behind it, anything that is rejectionist, is just a means. And what is important is the end, what is done with the added liberty (or the rearranged chairs).
Dewey goes on to talk about the so-called advantages of limiting freedom in a classroom: kids appear to be listening and attentive; there is uniformity and control. And many people who are new to PBL will ask, "What if my kids don't learn everything that I would have taught them in my lecture?" There's two points to that-- one, just because you lecture on something, doesn't mean that your kids are learning. At any given time, how many kids do you think are not listening? And then of those listening, how many will actually retain it? Two, you don't have to completely give up lecture. There is a time and a place for lecture in a PBL classroom-- it's just not the focus. There will be some things you that aren't covered in students' projects and you can use explicit instruction, even lectures to fill in those gaps or to support what they are discovering on their own. Lecture just isn't the primary source of learning. There is room for intellectual freedom!
"The other important advantage of increased outward freedom is found in the very nature of the learning process. That the older methods set a premium upon passivity and receptivity has been pointed out... The only escape from them in the standardized school is an activity which is irregular and perhaps disobedience."
It's not kids' natures to be quiet and still all day. Dewey points out that times of quiet and reflection are important but that they should be "brief intervals... of genuine reflection" followed after periods of more overt action. It shouldn't be any surprise that kids act up or goof off in class when they are expected to go against their nature for eight hours a day.
I think about the things that I know a lot about. I didn't learn that much of them in school. I think quilting is a good example-- I was interested so I started reading up on the internet. I talked to my mom and grandmother and had them demonstrate some things for me. Then I found this great blogging community online and used them as inspiration and resources. Finally, I took a class at a local quilting shop. And amidst all of this, I was quilting: making mistakes and learning step-by-step, gaining confidence and then getting frustrated, learning things from others and figuring a lot out by myself. It all happened so naturally and organically. That is how learning should be. And I think PBL has the potential for kids to learn like that in school.
"There can be no greater mistake, however, than to treat such freedom as an end itself. It then tends to be destructive of the shared cooperative activities which are the normal source of order."
Now that I've read over halfway into this book, I could have predicted that Dewey would say something like this and I so appreciate how he never lets the proverbial pendulum ever swing too far in one direction. Of course giving kids total freedom is not educative. That's one of my reservations about unschooling. It is important for teachers to facilitate learning, and it's equally important for students to have structure in working with others.
Here Dewey contrasts the "problem of social control" with the nature of freedom. Already, in the first paragraph, I was intrigued because, as teachers, we spend so much time trying to control kids-- sit down, follow the rules, behave, turn this in, don't you want to go to college...-- but we never really think of the kids' freedom. Not that I think school should be anarchy, but students' freedom is an important thought and should be part of the conversation, if only because it changes the way I think about controlling students.
"The only freedom that is of enduring importance is freedom of intelligence, that is to say, freesom of observation adn of juedment exercised in behalf of purposes taht are intrinsically worth while."
"The commonest mistake made about freedom is, I think, to identify it with freedom of movement, or with the external or physical side of activity."
I can't help but think of King's "Letters from a Birmingham Jail" or Nelson Mandela or even St. Paul-- anyone who was imprisoned physically, but intellectual or spiritually free. Dewey, though, talks about it in the classroom-sense, that the we think the typical schoolroom's fixed physical nature puts restrictions on students' behavior. (If they are sitting neatly in orderly rows, then they must be thinking neat thoughts or behaving in orderly ways.)
"But the fact still remains that an increased measure of freedom of outer movement is a means, not an end. The educational problem is not solved when the aspect of freedom is obtained."
I have so much to say about this. YES! Just because you put organize your room in an unstructured, non traditional way, doesn't mean you are escaping from the bounds of traditional schooling. You can put kids in groups and they can still be doing a worksheet. And even if you give your kids free reign to explore whatever they want (moving in a progressive direction), they won't necessarily learn anything or obtain intellectual freedom. I think Dewey is very artfully again pitting the downsides of traditional education against the downsides of progressive education. Anything that teachers do without a critical lens behind it, anything that is rejectionist, is just a means. And what is important is the end, what is done with the added liberty (or the rearranged chairs).
Dewey goes on to talk about the so-called advantages of limiting freedom in a classroom: kids appear to be listening and attentive; there is uniformity and control. And many people who are new to PBL will ask, "What if my kids don't learn everything that I would have taught them in my lecture?" There's two points to that-- one, just because you lecture on something, doesn't mean that your kids are learning. At any given time, how many kids do you think are not listening? And then of those listening, how many will actually retain it? Two, you don't have to completely give up lecture. There is a time and a place for lecture in a PBL classroom-- it's just not the focus. There will be some things you that aren't covered in students' projects and you can use explicit instruction, even lectures to fill in those gaps or to support what they are discovering on their own. Lecture just isn't the primary source of learning. There is room for intellectual freedom!
"The other important advantage of increased outward freedom is found in the very nature of the learning process. That the older methods set a premium upon passivity and receptivity has been pointed out... The only escape from them in the standardized school is an activity which is irregular and perhaps disobedience."
It's not kids' natures to be quiet and still all day. Dewey points out that times of quiet and reflection are important but that they should be "brief intervals... of genuine reflection" followed after periods of more overt action. It shouldn't be any surprise that kids act up or goof off in class when they are expected to go against their nature for eight hours a day.
I think about the things that I know a lot about. I didn't learn that much of them in school. I think quilting is a good example-- I was interested so I started reading up on the internet. I talked to my mom and grandmother and had them demonstrate some things for me. Then I found this great blogging community online and used them as inspiration and resources. Finally, I took a class at a local quilting shop. And amidst all of this, I was quilting: making mistakes and learning step-by-step, gaining confidence and then getting frustrated, learning things from others and figuring a lot out by myself. It all happened so naturally and organically. That is how learning should be. And I think PBL has the potential for kids to learn like that in school.
"There can be no greater mistake, however, than to treat such freedom as an end itself. It then tends to be destructive of the shared cooperative activities which are the normal source of order."
Now that I've read over halfway into this book, I could have predicted that Dewey would say something like this and I so appreciate how he never lets the proverbial pendulum ever swing too far in one direction. Of course giving kids total freedom is not educative. That's one of my reservations about unschooling. It is important for teachers to facilitate learning, and it's equally important for students to have structure in working with others.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Reflections from Dewey-- Chapters 4
Chapter 4: Social Control
This chapter seems to apply to classroom management as well as group dynamics in projects. Dewey argues that, like rules in a basketball game, classrooms need boundaries that are fair and agreed upon. When there is a clear understanding of mutually agreed upon rules, many disputes and power struggles are prevented. Dewey also points out that children are naturally social and they can often "police" each other, without adult intervention. My friend Mike, who has taught in a PBL classroom, told me that one of the great things about PBL is that kids do keep each other accountable and the teacher is relieved of some of his/her "whip-cracking." Dewey also talks about the teacher's role in the classroom as a facilitator; he uses the analogy of the teacher like a referee who simply enforces the rules rather than arbitrarily making rules up.
"There is incumbent upon the educator the duty of instituting a much more intelligent, and consequently, more difficult kind of planning. He must survey the capacities and needs of of the particular set of individuals with whom he is dealing with and must as the same time arrange the condition which provide the subject-matter or content for experiences that satisfy these needs and develop these capacities."
Over and over I heard the key to good classroom management is good instruction. When the students are engaged and working bell to bell, there just isn't room for shenanigans. I think Dewey is speaking to this, but I think he means more than just keeping kids under control. The creation of a student-centered classroom, in which students are engaged and curious and creating their own meaning is harder to plan for because it can't be a one-size-fits-all curriculum. The teacher has to know his/her students well and take the time to create creative and unique plans for the students. Teaching students how to think (or giving them room to learn how to the think critically) is a lot harder than teaching kids specific pieces of content.
This chapter seems to apply to classroom management as well as group dynamics in projects. Dewey argues that, like rules in a basketball game, classrooms need boundaries that are fair and agreed upon. When there is a clear understanding of mutually agreed upon rules, many disputes and power struggles are prevented. Dewey also points out that children are naturally social and they can often "police" each other, without adult intervention. My friend Mike, who has taught in a PBL classroom, told me that one of the great things about PBL is that kids do keep each other accountable and the teacher is relieved of some of his/her "whip-cracking." Dewey also talks about the teacher's role in the classroom as a facilitator; he uses the analogy of the teacher like a referee who simply enforces the rules rather than arbitrarily making rules up.
"The teacher reduces to a minimum the occasions in which he or she has to exercise authority in a personal way. When it is necessary, in the second place, to speak and act firmly, it is done in the best interest of the group, not as an exhibition of personal power. This makes the difference between action which is arbitrary and that which is just and fair."
I think the key word in this quote is person" "exercise authority in a personal way... not as an exhibition of personal power." Classroom management shouldn't really be about the teacher personally (although it often is... bad days can definitely have an impact on how you behave as a teacher!)-- it should be about the expectations of the class, not the teacher's mood or feeling. Well defined and fair expectations are definitely important in created an effective classroom.
Over and over I heard the key to good classroom management is good instruction. When the students are engaged and working bell to bell, there just isn't room for shenanigans. I think Dewey is speaking to this, but I think he means more than just keeping kids under control. The creation of a student-centered classroom, in which students are engaged and curious and creating their own meaning is harder to plan for because it can't be a one-size-fits-all curriculum. The teacher has to know his/her students well and take the time to create creative and unique plans for the students. Teaching students how to think (or giving them room to learn how to the think critically) is a lot harder than teaching kids specific pieces of content.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Reflections from Dewey-- Chapters 2-3
In chapters 2 and 3, Dewey spends time hashing out the importance of the educational experience. He points out that many progressive educators believe that traditional education deprives students of experience, but that view isn't completely correct. Rather, everything is an experience, but not all experiences are educative-- and not all experiences are educative in a good way. For example, a student could have an experience in school that makes him hate learning. Dewey also points out that in order for experiences to have the best impact on students, the experiences must be connected to each other and centered with a relevant context.
“Everything depends on the quality of the experience which is had. There is an immediate aspect of agreeableness or disagreeableness, and there is its obvious influence on upon later experiences.”
How many times have you heard students say, "I used to like reading, but I hate it now"? I imagine this sentiment is due to the bad experiences with reading in school. Teachers think they are exposing kids to canonical texts or preparing them for college, but instead they are giving their students "disagreeable" experiences. I think Dewey is also talking about relevance and connectedness in this quote. Experiences will be more meaningful if they connect to prior knowledge or previous experiences-- all learners are seeking connections.
Chapter 3
“If an experience arouses curiosity, strengthens initiative, and set up desires and purposes that are sufficiently intense to carry a person over-dead places in the future, continuity works in a very different way. Every experience is a moving force. Its value can be judge only the grounds of what it moves toward and into.”
I think this quote emphasizes the importance of thinking of learning as a journey rather than something static or fixed. I would argue that learning is a moving force-- what is that saying? The more you learn, the more you realize that you don't know? Essentially school should do more than just teach kids things, it should excite them about learning and the possibilities in the world. And we want school experiences to be "sufficiently intense" to keep the thrill of learning alive even when it gets challenging or boring. I think Dewey is saying that experiences that are worthy give students (and probably teachers) positive momentum.
“A primary responsibility of educators is that they not only be aware of the general principal of the shaping of an actual experience by envisioning conditions, but that they also recognize in the concrete what surroundings are conducive to having experiences that lead to growth. Above all, they should know how to utilize the surroundings, physical and social, that exist so as to extract from them all that they have to contribute to building up experiences that are worthwhile.”
Although I realize Dewey wrote these words almost a hundred years ago, I can't help but relate this quote to technology. Our technological tools provide so many resources for a variety of conditions that we can create in the classroom. Technology gives us access to an unimaginable amount of information and it allows us to connect to and communicate with people all over the world. We can simulate conditions of a variety of professions with the technology that is now basic in many schools. However, technology alone does nothing-- it is the experience with the technology that makes it meaningful.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Reflections from Dewey-- Chp 1
I'm going to approach my reflections on this book a little differently than I have for the previous books. Instead of just taking notes, I'm going to pull quotes from each chapter and respond/reflect on them.
In chapter one, Dewey sets up the conflict between traditional education and progressive education and points out that people tend to frame things in opposites or "either/or." He criticizes elements of both traditional and progressive education.
As a side note, I didn't include page numbers for the quotes because I read Experience and Education in the Kindle format, which doesn't preserve the page numbers.
In chapter one, Dewey sets up the conflict between traditional education and progressive education and points out that people tend to frame things in opposites or "either/or." He criticizes elements of both traditional and progressive education.
As a side note, I didn't include page numbers for the quotes because I read Experience and Education in the Kindle format, which doesn't preserve the page numbers.
Chapter 1
“The traditional scheme is, in essence, one of imposition from above and from outside. It imposed adult standards, subject-matter, and methods upon those who are only growing slowly towards maturity… Moreover, that which is taught is thought of as essentially static.”
This seems to be an apt summary of the downsides of traditional education-- the teacher imposes information, structure, and disciple onto the students. Information is concrete and not open to interpretation. I don't think this type of learning really prepares students to be lifelong learners or encourages a love of learning at all. The worst aspects of traditional education reward students for compliance and "playing the game." It is fear-based and doesn't encourage creativity, collaboration, or multiple interpretations. `
“The fundamental unity of the newer philosophy is found on the idea that there is an intimate and necessary relation between the process of actual experience and education… a positive and constructive development of its own basic idea depends upon having a correct idea of experience.”
Dewey talks about the benefits of progressive education that contrast with traditional education-- how it cultivates individuality, how students learn through experience, how students are acquainted with an ever-changing world, and that skills are attained in ways that are not isolated and are relevant. However, he's quick to point out that progressive education can't just be reactionary, that there must be solid connections between the experiences that student have and the education that they receive. Experiences don't inherently create an education; the experiences must have a positive and constructive development.
I take this to heart-- that in the creation of my PBL units, I have to be very careful and thoughtful about what these experiences will do.
"There is always the danger in a new movement that in rejecting the aims and methods of that which it would supplant, it may develop its principles negatively rather than positively and constructively."
I think this quote is kind of the heart of Dewey's argument-- that just because something is new that it can entirely reject the old. And I very much agree that if the focus is all on how PBL is not traditional that you create your philosophy based on the negative and it can be very limited, just thinking about what is it not, rather than thinking of the possibilities.
“… it is assumed that it suffices to reject the ideas and practices of the old education and then go in the opposite extreme”
I also think this is the fear of many traditional teachers-- that by embracing something new, they have to completely reject all that has worked for them in the past. Dewey is clear that some elements of traditional education are important and that educational philosophy doesn't have to be an either/or pursuit. Education, like so many things, seems to follow this pendulum swing from opposite extremes, but Dewey was arguing for a middle ground-- and this was almost 100 years ago!
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