Jason’s Reading Reflection 2/7/10
Posted by jbishop4 on February 7, 2010
Filed under Reading logs
I wanted to take the time to reflect primarily on the new conversations about teaching article. I was very impressed by the Authors ability to efficiently sum up and link together what many different fields can tell us about teaching and learning. It was also refreshing to see the mention of cross cultural studies (kind of a pet peeve of mine). We can really get into trouble when we start to generalize about learning (or any process/interaction/belief system/etc) and forget the importance of culture in framing our experiences.
The criticisms of our educational system found in the article I’ve been exposed to before and I continue to agree with. We do primarily promote memorization in our classrooms, for a number of reasons. It’s easier and cheaper to measure especially in large classrooms (which are also a money issue), and most importantly to me, it is how we think of intelligence culturally. People on jeopardy are very smart, children that can recite all of the presidents are impressive, knowing the right root word on the SAT’s means you’re a better student (Higher number = more knowledge!) As long as we continue to reward and glorify memorization, obsess over test scores, frame intelligence as an inherited ability, and attempt to fuel education with cut throat competitiveness in the classroom, we will continue to produce students that learn to anxiously cram for exams, memorize lots of facts, and forget everything when the course is over.
Comments
One Response to “Jason’s Reading Reflection 2/7/10”
Leave a Reply
Darren Cambridge on February 16th, 2010 1:25 pm
Looking at cross-cultural differences could be an interesting area of focus for you. I think that challenge here is compounded by the fact that many of us hold preconceptions about the structure of educational systems in other countries that aren’t very accurate. Marchese suggests, for example, that Asian approaches may actually be more progressive than they are assumed to be. I also think the impact of a Western conception of individualism in much of what we do is worth sustained inquiry.