I think the most important line from Dr. Michael Wesch’s TED talk on Knowledge-ability is that “Students Learn What They Do.” As I participate in instruction for tenth grade students in World History, these students don’t resemble historians at all! If they are truly learning what they do, then “Sit Still and Follow Along” would be more like it. Watching Dr. Wesch’s talk “From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able” reminds me that contemporary challenges require students to prepare by practicing. Solving real-world, complex, and interdisciplinary problems requires that students solve real-world, complex, interdisciplinary problems. Go figure! And collaborative technology like Google Apps for Education can help, but the more urgent priority is to calibrate instruction such that it requires students to use and develop critical thinking alongside the foundational concepts of the class. For example, in our classroom, it is important that students know (essentially, they need to have memorized) factors that “caused” Britain to industrialize. Without direct instruction and emphasis placed on this foundational knowledge, students would not be equipped to apply their knowledge to similar contexts. It’s here where we educators really need to pounce! Because beyond memorizing that coal, culture, rivers and farm-tech revolutionized Britain, we’d like students to think about various reasons that many European countries did not industrialize. Were these countries geographically isolated? Culturally lacking? Were there not enough people to put to work? Not enough capital? And beyond that, how about the nations that are still struggling to industrialize, today? These are the types of questions that beg us to put our brains to work. While I agree with Dr. Wesch that active participating prepares students for the real world, I also can't give up the solid ground that students gain by reading, studying, and remembering direct instruction. Education needs to be more active, for sure, but should also maintain balance between solid foundational concepts and active problem-solving.
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Maggie JohnsonData Analyst/Museum Educator turned High School Humanities Teacher. Archives
March 2017
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