New Culture of Learning: Quote, Question, Connection, Epiphany for each of Chapters 1-3
Chapter 1:
Quote: “[T]he kind of learning that will define the twenty-first century is not taking place in a classroom—at least not in today’s classroom. Rather, it is happening all around us, everywhere, and it is powerful. We call this phenomenon the new culture of learning….” (17)
Question: Why do the authors feel that Wikipedia is a tool for play? How does Wikipedia cultivate the imagination? (18-19)
Connection: Tony Wagner, in his book The Global Achievement Gap, also felt the “growing digital networked infrastructure [that] is amplifying our ability to access and use nearly unlimited resources and incredible instruments while connecting with one another at the same time” was having, or should have, radical effects on education. (17-18)
Epiphany: The gaming professor thought that the students had learned nothing, because he had not lectured; in fact, the students had learned a great deal, because they learned from one another and used each other as resources. (23-25)
Chapter 2:
Quote: “[E]ducation has been seen as a process of transferring information from a higher authority (the teacher) down to the student. This model, however, just can’t keep up with the rapid rate of change in the twenty-first century.” (34)
Question: Why do the authors seem to feel that the teacher-centered, mechanistic approach was acceptable for the 20th century? See my blog post from earlier today for more on this.
Connection: In the video “Stop Stealing Dreams,” Seth Grodin said that, in the era when our economy was industrial, school was about teaching students to be uniform and interchangeable. Teachers were being prepared for a workforce in which obedience and respect were paramount. Thomas and Seely Brown, similarly, talk about a mechanistic approach, “as if students were being taught how to operate a machine or even…as if the students themselves were machines being programmed to accomplish tasks.” (35).
Epiphany: Even in some of the best schools today, the ultimate endpoint is efficiency: “The goal is to learn as much as you can, as fast as you can.” (35) The only difference is that we have added use of technological tools to the long list of steps to be mastered.
Chapter 3
Quote: “If the twentieth century was about creating a sense of stability to buttress against change and then trying to adapt to it, then the twenty-first century is about embracing change, not fighting it.”
Question: Why do the authors feel that the twentieth century was characterized by a “glacial rate of change,” despite so much evidence to the contrary? See my blog post from earlier today for more on this.
Connection: Richardson, in his book Why School?, also argues that, in an era of abundant information, teachers should not make students memorize facts. Like the New Culture of Learning authors, he seemed to feel that teaching kids to memorize facts was somehow a desirable component of teaching in the pre-internet days.
Epiphany: A study recently concluded that Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Brittanica are more or less equally erroneous. Therefore, I should be less skeptical of the reliability of what I read on Wikipedia.
Chapter 1:
Quote: “[T]he kind of learning that will define the twenty-first century is not taking place in a classroom—at least not in today’s classroom. Rather, it is happening all around us, everywhere, and it is powerful. We call this phenomenon the new culture of learning….” (17)
Question: Why do the authors feel that Wikipedia is a tool for play? How does Wikipedia cultivate the imagination? (18-19)
Connection: Tony Wagner, in his book The Global Achievement Gap, also felt the “growing digital networked infrastructure [that] is amplifying our ability to access and use nearly unlimited resources and incredible instruments while connecting with one another at the same time” was having, or should have, radical effects on education. (17-18)
Epiphany: The gaming professor thought that the students had learned nothing, because he had not lectured; in fact, the students had learned a great deal, because they learned from one another and used each other as resources. (23-25)
Chapter 2:
Quote: “[E]ducation has been seen as a process of transferring information from a higher authority (the teacher) down to the student. This model, however, just can’t keep up with the rapid rate of change in the twenty-first century.” (34)
Question: Why do the authors seem to feel that the teacher-centered, mechanistic approach was acceptable for the 20th century? See my blog post from earlier today for more on this.
Connection: In the video “Stop Stealing Dreams,” Seth Grodin said that, in the era when our economy was industrial, school was about teaching students to be uniform and interchangeable. Teachers were being prepared for a workforce in which obedience and respect were paramount. Thomas and Seely Brown, similarly, talk about a mechanistic approach, “as if students were being taught how to operate a machine or even…as if the students themselves were machines being programmed to accomplish tasks.” (35).
Epiphany: Even in some of the best schools today, the ultimate endpoint is efficiency: “The goal is to learn as much as you can, as fast as you can.” (35) The only difference is that we have added use of technological tools to the long list of steps to be mastered.
Chapter 3
Quote: “If the twentieth century was about creating a sense of stability to buttress against change and then trying to adapt to it, then the twenty-first century is about embracing change, not fighting it.”
Question: Why do the authors feel that the twentieth century was characterized by a “glacial rate of change,” despite so much evidence to the contrary? See my blog post from earlier today for more on this.
Connection: Richardson, in his book Why School?, also argues that, in an era of abundant information, teachers should not make students memorize facts. Like the New Culture of Learning authors, he seemed to feel that teaching kids to memorize facts was somehow a desirable component of teaching in the pre-internet days.
Epiphany: A study recently concluded that Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Brittanica are more or less equally erroneous. Therefore, I should be less skeptical of the reliability of what I read on Wikipedia.