Curriculum Actualization is a term used in our province to indicate the completion of implementation of a curriculum.
Miguel has been having some great discussion about curriculum and its worth a read.
I spend a lot of time reading and writing about the way things ought to be in terms of creating an authentic, relevant classroom. Bob Sprankle, if you aren’t aware is a grade 3-4 teacher in Maine. He’s been podcasting for some time now and if you visit his classroom site, you’ll get a sense of what he and his students are doing.
I listened to his podcast last week where he talks about his students investigation of a false accusation on wikipedia. That in itself is powerful stuff. David Warlick did a session last week and used their podcast as an example of K-12 podcasting. During the session, he had participants comment on what they heard. One person questioned the validity of the students work and wondered if Bob Sprankle had done the writing for them.
In the most recent podcast by Bob Sprankle, he records a classroom discussion where students respond to the accusation that perhaps they aren’t doing the writing. Listen to their response.
I like this exchange, when Bob plays devil’s advocate and says:
“How would you even know a word like ‘false accuation’.”
“I read books”
I love how Bob let’s the kids hammer out their ideas and simply offers leading questions. This is great teaching and even greater learning.
Miguel said,
So, although we may perceive that students are developing skills more efficiently as they “wikify” knowledge, we could still achieve the same results with other approaches.
Really? What other approaches could match this learning?
If you can find a better or comparable example of authentic learning that doesn’t incorporate technology, I’d like to know.
What do you think? Add a comment below or start a conversation.
4 comments
Hi Dean,
On the side of podcasts, I wanted to say thanks for putting a swicki on your blog. I reviewed it, looks good, and pushed it into our directory.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Regards,
Jenn
Eurekster Team
http://www.swicki.com
Hi Dean. Thanks for the link…here’s my response and a few more questions to hurry our conversation along.
http://www.mguhlin.net/blog/archives/2006/01/entry_1048.htm
I don’t think we have ever needed technology to help others improve critical thinking skills, but it can certainly be a powerful lever if applied appropriately. You asked for examples, so here is one from my own college days. I took a philosophy class that was block taught with a literature class, and my final paper was an analysis of how Huck Finn on the river with Jim, realizing he was a human being and deserving of equal treatment just like himself, was an example of Kant’s categorical imperative in action. Granted this was a work of fiction, but the idea was manifested in this example.
We didn’t use any technology to explore these ideas, discuss them and research them. Critical thinking does not require technology. I am a big advocate for the effective use of technology in the classroom, but more often I think it can be used to merely make a traditional paradigm of education more efficient. So I agree with Miguel on this one.
Nice example Wes but what if your your class included the opportunity to discuss your ideas globally? Or what if your paper was built in a wiki where others worked on it as well.
Grant it, these things can in some ways be replicated without technology but it takes it to a whole new level.
I agree that technology is not needed for critical thinking but as I said, I question whether it can be at the same level when technology is appropriately used in critical thinking.