1. In all three readings for this week, ideas about learning were presented that are do not necessarily gel with what is considered “traditional” teaching in today’s public schools. The Resnick article, in particular, examined how learning and application differ for school and the “real world,” and that was written in 1987. In our education classes, we’ve learned about more student-centered approaches such as constructivism, PBL, etc. In your experience, has public education evolved any in the over 20 years since the Resnick article was written, or are have ideas like social learning and ecological psychology actually had an impact in at the K-12 level?
2. Both the Saloman & Perkins and the Resnick articles discuss the use of tools by learners. Both indicated a debate about the transfer of skills to a tool from a person, with Resnick noting that as long as the tool has the skills, the system as a whole has lost no intelligence. I think this makes the point, though, that the person has lost that skill and would not be able to function that particular task without the tool. At what point do acknowledge the tool’s role and absolve a person from knowing those skills? For example, in early math classes I’ve taken, no calculators were allowed, though in advanced classes, calculators were required. When does this shift happen? Is it dictated by society? I can see a student now being puzzled about having to learn about multiplication or division when almost everyone has easy and immediate access to a calculator by way of phone and/or computer.
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