Subject Perdicate? education,defense,nation Foremost, learning about learning is a personal venture. How did I learn to speak, but fail at learning any second language? Why do I still hesitate at taking a strictly science or math course? Why do I think that I can't do anything, despite relative academic success? History should not be taught as a series of isolated, decontextualised events. This is what Paulo Freire calls "banking", which allows the students only to memorise and sort information so that it can be reproduced upon demand (Freire 58).
There is no emphasis placed on the ability to transfer knowledge from one application to another, which can help the student to "create new knowledge and arrive at further understandings" (40 Wiggins). In the context of U.S. History, transferability might mean the ability to relate past events to current politics or to American literature. What the student learns must be relevant to him. He should be encouraged to make connections between what is learned in the classroom and the experiences of his daily activities.
This real-world context allows for the student to reflect upon the application of what he learns in the classroom. Carol Rodgers describes this reflection as a meaning-making process that moves the learner from one experience into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. (845 Rodgers) One role of the teacher is to rouse this sort of reflection when it is appropriately related to the class material.
When the student integrates his own interests and musings into class projects and discussions, the teachers should take his ideas seriously and motivate him to build upon them. To help students grow into participating members of their societies, their education should inform students about the kind of world in which they live. Some basic example of this would be: developing a critical understanding of how laws are passed (both in theory and practise), an understanding of different cultures which are prominent in the students' lives, and the sceptical analysis of the students' own values.
All of these should be executed with immense respect for the students' personal beliefs, but should nonetheless be thought-provoking exercises. Role of Assessment The student's grade should not necessarily reflect how many answers he got wrong or right on his tests or how his projects compared to the rest of his class; instead, they should be a measurement of the progress he has made over the course of his education. This means that the teacher must initially assess the student's typical work output at the beginning of classes, to use as a reference point for progress made during the course.
Additionally, each time a new subject is begun in class, the teacher should try to obtain some idea of the students' initial abilities at comprehending it, what Popham refers to as pretest data (14 Popham). "Each child brings a particular set of skills and interests to bear on any given problem.
There is no emphasis placed on the ability to transfer knowledge from one application to another, which can help the student to "create new knowledge and arrive at further understandings" (40 Wiggins). In the context of U.S. History, transferability might mean the ability to relate past events to current politics or to American literature. What the student learns must be relevant to him. He should be encouraged to make connections between what is learned in the classroom and the experiences of his daily activities.This real-world context allows for the student to reflect upon the application of what he learns in the classroom. Carol Rodgers describes this reflection as a meaning-making process that moves the learner from one experience into the next with deeper understanding of its relationships with and connections to other experiences and ideas. (845 Rodgers) One role of the teacher is to rouse this sort of reflection when it is appropriately related to the class material.
When the student integrates his own interests and musings into class projects and discussions, the teachers should take his ideas seriously and motivate him to build upon them. To help students grow into participating members of their societies, their education should inform students about the kind of world in which they live. Some basic example of this would be: developing a critical understanding of how laws are passed (both in theory and practise), an understanding of different cultures which are prominent in the students' lives, and the sceptical analysis of the students' own values.
All of these should be executed with immense respect for the students' personal beliefs, but should nonetheless be thought-provoking exercises. Role of Assessment The student's grade should not necessarily reflect how many answers he got wrong or right on his tests or how his projects compared to the rest of his class; instead, they should be a measurement of the progress he has made over the course of his education. This means that the teacher must initially assess the student's typical work output at the beginning of classes, to use as a reference point for progress made during the course.
Additionally, each time a new subject is begun in class, the teacher should try to obtain some idea of the students' initial abilities at comprehending it, what Popham refers to as pretest data (14 Popham). "Each child brings a particular set of skills and interests to bear on any given problem.