How Should We Educate Our Children - Coursework Example

6A. Write at least one paragraph that explains assumptions and/or biases that are embedded in the argument of the you wrote about in Task 5A. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the authors assumptions and/or biases. Technology is viewed by the author chosen as a primary essential factor that is needed for the educational development of each young individual. The author even notes the impartiality of the need to make young ones highly involved in using technology as a major aide for learning. On the other hand though, with regards the same matter, many other critics note a different comment about technology and the involvement of the youth in the use of the said gadgets for learning. According to the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper, the spokesman for a pediatricians’ association in Berlin puts the blame for communication problems of the young on excessive television viewing and computer usage. He said that children, especially preschoolers, should spend less time watching TV or sitting in front of a computer and more time communicating with and being stimulated by real people. Additionally, new research, says The Sunday Times of Britain, suggests that “growing numbers of people in their twenties and thirties are suffering from severe memory loss” and the inability “to distinguish between important and unimportant facts” because of an “increasing reliance on computer technology.” 6B. Write at least one paragraph that explains assumptions and/or biases that are embedded in the argument of the author you wrote about in Task 5B. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the authors assumptions and/or biases. On the other hand, in opposition to the claims of the author examined in task 5A, the author in this section believes that there are negative effects of technology to the young students as they become highly dependent to the applications of technology in the process of young learning. More than that, some even make it a reason for cheating. Yes, technology, if not used properly would become a major source of educational downfall. 6C. Carefully review your work for Task 1A. Write at least one paragraph that identifies two or more of your own initial assumptions and/or biases and explains how they affected what you wrote. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your assumptions and/or biases. The major schooling systems in the society today handle observation student competence through test results. Understandably though, it could not be denied that solely relying on the said test results would not be well reasonable enough to judge how much the said population of students has actually learned. Hence, it is then further suggested that the testing and observation be handled in individual approach. This particular discussion actually makes the process of understanding student motivation system through the implication of grading system through the process much easier to decipher. However, it could not be denied that this particular discussion still needs some enhancement so as to prove that the need for a better system of teaching and student motivation should be given focus by the society today. Task 6D (One-Page Essay) Browne and Keeley contrast weak-sense critical thinking with strong-sense critical thinking in their chapter titled "The Benefit of Asking the Right Questions." Re-read your response for Task 1A and write a one-page essay indicating which kind of critical thinking you think your writing demonstrates. Based on this self-analysis, how would you evaluate your present strengths and weaknesses as a critical thinker? That is, what skills will you need to sharpen (or acquire) in order to demonstrate at least a Level 4 competency as described on the attached RUA2 Task C rubric? Of course, youll want to look at the attached CLRPS rubric for Task 6 before you write. Through this particular course work, I realized that critical thinking is an important matter to consider especially with regards dealing on issues that concerns the mass population of the human society. This especially involves the issues with regards education and technology. The two aspects impacting the present generation of learners actually make a huge indication that strategic thinking should actually be implemented in the process of developing educational systems in the human communities at present. 7A. Identify an important piece of evidence you listed in Task 3H that could be interpreted in different ways. Write at least one paragraph discussing how that piece of evidence can be interpreted in at least two different ways or used to support at least two different points of view. Home schooling has become an increasingly respected option. Between 1985 and 1997 the percentage of Americans who approved home-schooling increased from 16 to 36 percent (Pfleger, 1998). The evidence that home schooling is indeed a new approach to dealing with the educational needs of the present community of learners actually makes it certain that this new process is certainly effective in approaching the individual-based observation of the major students today. However, this particular evidence of dealing with the issue of educational provision to young learners also has its downsides. Likely, the said down points of the matter is that the young learners enrolled in this particular process of education have lesser involvement in group learning that could hurt their social growth. 7B. Identify a second important piece of evidence you listed in Task 3H that could be interpreted in different ways. Write at least one paragraph discussing how that piece of evidence can be interpreted in at least two different ways or used to support at least two different points of view. Nationally, approximately 15 percent of new teachers leave teaching within the first year, 30 percent within three years, 40 to 50 percent within five years (Ingersoll, 2002; smith and Ingersoll, 2003). Teaching is indeed considered as a noble profession that is noted by the entire society as an important matter that needs to be given consideration today. With the many elements that affect the process by which teachers handle their tasks, it should be noted that learning and teaching balance should be well given attention by the authorities concerned so as to ensure that the teachers receive the satisfaction that they need to remain at work making the possibility of a lesser number of teachers quitting from their chosen profession, thus increasing the level of quality education that they are providing their students. 8A. Evidence from 7A. For the piece of evidence you considered in Task 7A, write at least one paragraph discussing the strengths and weaknesses of that evidence. Include the evidence you discussed in Task 7 in the form for evaluator reference. Education is important. Following this concern, it could be observed that both personal and group education could actually make the entire situation better thus developing both individual and social personalities of young learners today. With home schooling, the implication of education becomes more personal. However, as it could be observed, learners who were much practiced to deal with their on concerns are likely less able to work within a group. Hence, through this, the evidences held within this particular section then still needs to prove that home schooling could also enhance the social growth of certain young learners who accept the said type of educational service. 8B. Evidence from 7B. For the piece of evidence you considered in Task 7B, write at least one paragraph discussing the strengths and weaknesses of that evidence. Include the evidence you discussed in Task 7 in the form for evaluator reference. Teachers play a primary role in handling the issues of social education. It could be observed that their enthusiasm in handling their job makes a great impact as to how they are able to give the right kind of education that their students need. Likely, it is through this particular process that the students are ensured of quality education. Understandably though, there are also some personal issues that the said professional educators need to deal with, at some point, these issues are less given care by the authorities who are concerned in the issue thus making it harder to make amends with the situation that the teachers and students are dealing with at present. Hence, this particular issue then requires a solution that is both relevant to the needs of the teachers as well as the values that the students are most deserving to receive from the educational institutions that they are enrolled in. Task 9A Open the Relevant Information Document you submitted for Task 3. (If you did not submit the Relevant Information Document for Task 3, then copy and paste your responses to the prompts into a new document.)  Carefully review the information you submitted in the document. Insert any new information or insights you have gained as you have continued to explore the problem under the appropriate heading in the Relevant Information Document you submitted for Task 3. Label each insertion with the heading "New Information" and change the color of the font to red. Note: While you might not add information to every section, you should make additions to at least 4-5 areas. Task 9B Think back on all the new information and understanding you have gained on your topic. In 2-3 paragraphs, describe the history of your thinking about your topic since you began this assessment. How has your knowledge of this topic evolved during your preparation for this assessment? What is new? What remains the same? What has been refined? What is no longer relevant? Submit your response as an attachment to TaskStream. Through this particular coursework, I learned that the topic I chose is strongly relevant with regards the wise use of technology in student learning systems. It is through this that the process by which modern students learn and present educators teach their lessons could be well developed through the application of the collaboration of both the modern process of teaching with the traditional ways of handling the lessons required within the curriculum. Task 9C Think about your experience working through Tasks 1-9. What strengths and weaknesses have you identified in your thinking? What new thinking strategies have helped clarify the issue for you? How has your approach to critical thinking changed? After reviewing the Task 9C Essay Directions (attached below), write an essay (suggested length of 5-6 pages) describing the critical thinking approach you used as you worked through Tasks 1-9 of this assessment. Double-space your text and use APA format for in-text and reference page citations. USING A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO TEACHING TO BETTER THE EDUCATION OF PRESENT GENERATION OF LEARNERS Introduction Learning is a natural human brain exercise. From a baby’s birth towards its growth, a person is naturally incited with the want of being able to gain knowledge of the different things that are happening in the society. However, not until they are able to set their foot on the grounds of proper learning would they be able to understand what is there to get knowledge about. On the other hand, when the right time comes, and the learning arena is already waiting for the young learner, the interest for gaining knowledge has rather faded on the part of the young mind. This is the reason why there is a serious need for increasing the transfer of learning for the young learner’s benefit. Concerning the issue of learning and the transfer of knowledge that has to be addressed in this paper, it would be helpful to learn what project-based learning is all about and how it affects the learning process of young minds. What is Project-based Learning? The project-based learning approach has been actually developed to help young learners to become inspired in being able to further understand the society in their own point of view. Naturally, this approach for classrooms activities directly emphasizes the essence of long-term learning. Through further development of the said process of teaching, PBL has been noted to encourage deep investigation among young students. Since they are usually faced within the subjects that concern the society, the students are further encouraged increasing the interest they have towards learning. True to its sense, many teachers believe that project-based learning helps the students further develop their independent sense of working on their own assigned tasks. In turn, this process further allows them to acquire a more in-depth learning and accurate informations regarding their own study topics. Through the application of project-based learning, the creation of a fine environment of learning for the students has been successfully met. PBL is mainly a form of an inductive teaching that is designed to carry on the use of problem solving as a form of teaching than simply resorting to spoon-feeding processes that were traditionally utilized by past educators. As the PBL system is being directly applied, the roles of the said system is mainly described to be much effective for the students as it is applied through the thought of carrying its roles in learning: PBL relies on learning groups that involves the students in an actual performance of investigation of the given problem PBL allows student groups to determine their projects. Most of the students are able to actually get involved in the process of learning that is further implied in the problem solving PBL helps the students realize their own social responsibility because of the fact that they are commonly faced with the actual problems that plague the society PBL helps them develop soaring self-esteems as they are able to get directly connected with the problem solving Students develop a thirst for being able to be directly connected to the social phenomena that happens in the society now every now and then. With the roles that have been listed herein, it could then be noted that PBL is indeed a break through in the field of education, and its application in the field of learning.Furthermore, Ravitz, and his colleagues in his research on the development of PBL systems comment on PBL this way: “Project Based Learning is not only a potentially effective instructional approach, but it is also an essential component of several current school reform models. There are many definitions and approaches to Project Based Learning. We define standards-focused Project Based Learning as…a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks (Buck Institute for Education, 2003)” (Ravitz, 2004) By being able to define PBL in this manner, the group of Ravitz in the Buck Institute for Education has noted that this system of teaching is indeed effective for application especially for children or students whose interests are already spurred up by investigative processes of learning. Furthermore, the researcher whose study was held in Chicago Educational Institutes has commented on the PBL system this way: This study provides strong empirical support that “instruction matters.” We found clear and consistent evidence that in Chicago’s elementary schools the instructional approach teachers use influences how much students learn in reading and mathematics. Moreover, interactive teaching methods were associated with more learning in both subjects. Our findings call into serious question the assumption that low-achieving, economically disadvantaged students are best served by teaching that emphasizes didactic methods and review (Smith, Lee & Newmann, 2001, January). (Ravitz, 2004) It is then further made certain that the project-based learning system is used with the incorporation of technological inventions for communication. Through this systematic process, the effectiveness of PBL is then empowered and thus become more practical for young learners. Hence, the project-based leaning approach that is used towards students today has created an easier way in shaping the minds of the young learners towards the importance of gaining knowledge through research. It has been noted too that through this process, the young minds of the students are challenged to work; as a result, their ability in reasoning out for what they believe into is sharpened. With the introduction of the Internet and the revolution of information sharing in the human society, PBL is further exposed to practical use of online students. The creation of online, self-learning modules and other classroom-based activities that are made available online for students in the Internet, the implication of PBL system has helped so much in increasing the capability of the transfer of learning in such setups. In the said system of learning, computers are further given a high regard when it comes to problem solving. The resources that are found in the internet are examined to have been very helpful for the understanding of the students. The information technology has much been interconnected with the PBL’s effective application. The fast-paced exchange of learning through this system has been much affected with the computer information sharing development. According to David Moursund, there are two major roles that computers play in the PBL’s actual application in learning activities. The said roles are as follows: 1. It is intended for use in non-ICT courses for pre-service and in-service teachers. There, it provides background needed as the courses focus on their main content areas. Within these non-ICT content areas, a course will emphasize both lower-order and higher-order skills. Instruction in both components of a discipline is intended to increase expertise in posing, representing, and solving the problems of the discipline. Thus, problem solving is part of every discipline. 2. It is intended for use in workshops for in-service teachers, school administrators, and teachers’ aides. Here the intent is to improve education by helping educators understanding the steadily increasing power of ICT to empower students in posing, representing, and solving complex problems. With the said roles, it is obvious that the computer information sharing systems has made it possible for PBL to gain much acceptance in the field of education. The art of critical thinking and reasoning has been further pre-arranged to work together towards a more practical learning capability that could be attained by young learners. Concerning the application of PBL in actual learning process, it has been noted that the role of computers along with the application of critical thinking on the part of the students is a crucial stage of the process. This would naturally involve the complete attention of the students as well as their excellent performance in the investigation to be able to come up with the expected results. Lauren Resnick (Moursund, 2004) says that there are mainly nine major characteristics of the inculcation of Critical thinking in the PBL system that makes it more effective for learners to grasp the lessons that they discover through problem solving. The said characteristics are as follows: • Is non-algorithmic—the path of action is not fully specified in advance -The main idea of implementing PBL in the learning scheme of students is to let the students discover the ways by which they could solve the problem in their own strategies. This would rather help them attain the capability of further understanding the problem even before they begin the investigation. • Is complex—with the total path not visible from any single vantage point - The character of a problem is naturally complex. This is the main reason why it is called a “problem”. The complexity of the matter would spur up the interest of the students to know what is there to be learned. The curiosity of the students is further awakened because of the want of being involved in the solving process of the issue that they are faced with. • Often yields multiple solutions, each with costs and benefits Along the way of creating the possible solutions for the issue being discussed, it is normal to arrive at several ways of solving the problem. All different solutions do have their own benefits that could lead to the completion of the problem-solving process being taken. • Involves nuanced judgment and interpretation -With all the teammates working on the problem, there would be numerous judgments and interpretations that could come up along the way. With this, the ability of the team to work together would be tested and further enhanced as they are faced with the process of deciding on which interpretation is most practical for the solution of the problem being dealt with by the entire team. • Involves the application of multiple criteria, which sometimes conflict with one another -With the application of the interpretations and the judgments that have been mentioned earlier, the conflict of ideas could then arise. This is where the ability of the teammates or the students to deal with the said conflicts could be well observed. In real life chances of facing problems, the said skill of enduring the tests of conflict within the tam could be applied in real-life problems that would involve the students in the future in their professional jobs. • Often involves uncertainty, because not everything that bears on the task is known -Uncertainties makes it possible for the students to move themselves to identify what is further needed and asked for in the problems that they are dealing with. This way, the students are able to understand the problem in their own way and would be more capable of solving the problems through the application for their own skills in the process. • Involves self-regulation of the thinking process, rather than coaching at every step Self-reliance is further enhanced in this sector of the PBL application. The ability of the student to understand the necessary informations needed for solving the problem is essential in this process. Being able to understand the situation in one’s own way would help a student fully share on the team’s goal of solving the issue that they are assigned to solve. • Involves imposing meaning, finding structure in apparent disorder -Once the disorders arise, the students are able to measure their capability of thinking of a better way to fix the problems that arise along the way. With this, the students are then able to impose meanings on the structured disorders that they meet; hence, they are then encouraged to use critical thinking as a tool of understanding the matters involved in the problem. • Is effortful, with considerable mental work involved -PBL systems is known for its encouragement on the involvement of the mind in learning. It has been learned through the studies that psychologists performed, that the ability of a person to utilize his mind in the process of living that is learned through early education is highly applicable in the actual life of the students as they grow older and would apply their learned skill in thinking in their own fields of profession. It has been found through the said studies that a student who is practiced early in thinking critically fares better than that of other students who were not encouraged to think well in their studying processes in school institutions. With the said characteristics, it is indeed a certainty that the encouragement of the use of the mind ion learning is the one that is mainly encouraged by the process of application of PBL systems. The enthusiasts of the said learning strategy are well indulged in their want of being able to inculcate the importance of mind utilization among young students. Instead of the traditional “spoon-feeding” system that has been used in ages, PBL revolutionizes the learning process of the students of the modern era. The Increased Transfer of Learning through PBL The ability of the mind to control the outcomes that govern a human’s decisions in life is immensely amazing. It could be noted that through the history of humanity, the use of the mind as a powerful tool of making things happen is indeed proven by the large names of men that contributed to the development of the civilization of humanity. It is indeed nothing magical. On the contrary, the mind is a powerful matter that the creator provided humans for them t be able to use their free will in deciding on the ways with which the individual should go to. In connection to this, Elert comments: “The human brain controls memory, vision, learning, thought, consciousness and other activities. By means of electrochemical impulses the brain directly controls conscious or voluntary behavior. It also monitors, through feedback circuitry, most involuntary behavior and influences automatic activities of the internal organs. During fetal development the foundations of the mind are laid as billions of neurons form appropriate connections and patterns. No aspect of this complicated structure has been left to chance. The basic wiring plan is encoded in the genes. The brains billions of neurons connect with one another in complex networks. All physical and mental functioning depends on the establishment and maintenance of neuron networks.” (As quoted by Moursund, 2004) Yes, the application of PBL in the learning activities of young students encourages the capability of the individual person to utilize his mind in the process of solving the problems that they are assigned to investigate. Through this enthusiastic goal of PBL to incite within the students the importance of applying critical thinking in learning, the transfer of learning among the educators towards their respective students are thus increased. Today, the difference between the traditional learning process and the information age learning which involves PBL is directly different. Billy Hughes further places the differences in clarity. Through the diagram sown below, the differences are clearly separated by the said author: INDUSTRIAN AGE INFORMATION AGE Standardization-------------------------Customization Centralized control---------------------Autonomy with accountability Adversarial relationships--------------Cooperative relationships Autocratic decision making-----------Shared decision making Compliance----------------------------Initiative Conformity-----------------------------Diversity One-way communications------------Networking Compartmentalization ----------------Holism Parts-oriented -------------------------Process-oriented Teacher as "King"---------------------Learner (customer) as "King (Source: Hughes, 1996, http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper17/17-7.html) With the diagram shown above, it could be note that the difference between the Industrian Age [involving the spoon-feeding system of teaching] and the Information Age [involving the project-based learning system] is indeed contradictionary against each other. If not contradictory, the process of teaching and learning from the two compared ages progressed through the years based from the needs and provisionary gadgets of information that are available in the human society. It could be noted too that through the diagram shown, the information age mainly encourages the application of the ability of the students to work on their own with minimum supervision from their instructors. The said differences shall be discussed in the list that follows: Customization Unlike the standardization system, the students are now encouraged to create their own personal ways by which they are more capable of grasping their lessons. This is patterned on the fact that a person is able to determine his capability of learning. Numerous students have their own capacity and pace of learning. Each individual student differ from each other, hence, the customization system allows them to be classified accordingly to the pace of their learning ability. This way, they are able to learn their lessons in their own capability, thus giving them the chance to learn more than how much they would naturally learn from the standardized system. Autonomy with accountability As mentioned earlier, the control of learning is among the students. The tam that are assigned to deal with a certain issue holds most of the control on how they are supposed to complete the school requirement that they have to finish. Cooperative relationships Cooperation among each team member is encouraged. Since the problem is to be solved by the whole group as one team, the application of cooperation among each member is enhanced in the PBL systems. The incitation of the ability of each member to get along with the whole group and perform great with the team would determine the success that they could attain in the said learning system. Shared decision making Decision making is an essential part of the PBL system. If a student is under a low-road transfer of knowledge, and has happened to be within a team that has a greater high-road transfer learning capability, the other student is expected to be able to gain further encouragement to perform well with the group to at least give contribution to the solution of the problem being solved by the team. Initiative Students under PBL system are expected to apply their own initiative in creating their own strategies in making the solutions possible for the problem being dealt with by the team. In this regard, the ability of the student to inculcate within himself the importance of being able to contribute to the success of the group would help him become more socially responsible as he grows older and becomes more involved in the human society. Diversity The mix up of different people within a group allows each member of the team to develop a certain measure of understanding towards others’ capability of learning and contribution. Since PBL involves everyone in the team, the students are then encouraged to adjust to then personality and the learning capability of their teammates. Networking Everyone is involved, thus everyone is entitled to communicate through Internet networking. This way, everyone is given their own chance of sharing their ideas and judgments regarding the problem being solved by the team. Through networking, inter-cultural abilities of each student are then welcomed and appreciated, earning higher self-confidence for each individual student involved in the team. Holism According to a dictionary of Webster, holism is “the theory that living matter or reality is made up of organic or unified wholes that are greater than the simple sum of their parts” (Webster’s Dictionary, 2000) Hence, holism refers to the fact that PBL implies the importance of being directly involved in the investigation process of the project that is being completed by the team. The collection of the ideas that would contribute to the successful completion of the requirement would allow all teams to gain from the work that they have done in a more beneficial way for them as individuals and as teammates. Process-oriented Everything exists in a certain pattern of application of created process by the team. The collection of the processes that are involved in the problem solving process is indeed essential for the completion of the team project. Students then who are under a low-road transfer would be able to relate to the lessons being inculcated through the problem-solving activities since the patterns of the processes that needs to be taken is made clear for the entire group working on the issue. Learner (customer) as "King This means that the students are the ones who are in control of the learning process. The educators serve as the supervisors and not as managers. They are simply there to see if the students are able to grasp the best lessons that they could from the activities that were pre-designed for them. In this regard, the students are the ones who are referred to as the “Kings of the learning process. They are the ones who are supposed to benefit from the lessons, then they are given the chance to determine which way of teaching or learning strategy would be best for them to utilize. Conclusion Through the implicative process of applying the PBL system in the current educational proceedings received by the society today, it could be observed that both teachers and students would be better motivated to take consideration on the process by which they accept education as well as to how they share the said matter to others. The author of this paper strongly agrees on the fact that PBL has a great chance of making a remarkable development as to how education is given high importance by the parties involved within the said process of education provision. Through this learning, it has been better understood by the author that critical thinking is indeed an essential factor that needs to be considered in handling issues of mass effect in the society. Certainly, education, being one of the primary needs of human individuals today has been noted through research as primarily needing assistance and clarity from the different sectors of the society concerned about the said matter. Certainly though, through this particular research, the author naturally realized that through the ample application of the past effective systems of education with that of the current trend of learning among the modern generation of learners, being educated would not be so much of a hard situation to consider. Internet Sources: Dave Moursund. (2002). ICT-Assisted Project-Based Learning. http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~moursund/PBL/. (November 09,2008). OTEC Home Page. (2000). Learning Theories and Transfer of Learning. http://otec.uoregon.edu/learning_theory.htm. (November 09,2008). Scott D. Johnson. (2004). Learning Technological Concepts and Developing Intellectual Skills. http://www.springerlink.com/content/t74t676tm361w025/. (November 09,2008). Billie Hughes. (1996). Educational Researcher. http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper17/17-7.html. (November 09,2008). Scarbrough et al. (2004). Project-Based Learning and the Role of Learning Boundaries. http://oss.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/25/9/1579.pdf. (November 09,2008). Jason Ravitz, et al. (2004). Online Professional Development for Project Based Learning: Pathways to Systematic Improvement. http://www.bie.org/files/Ravitz_AECT_2004.pdf. (November 09,2008). David Moursund. (2004). Brief Introduction to Roles of Computers in Problem Solving. https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/dspace/bitstream/1794/3190/1/ShortPS.pdf. (November 09,2008). Books and Other Publications: Barron, B. (1998). "Doing with understanding: Lessons from research on problem- and project-based learning." Journal of the Learning Sciences. 7(3&4), 271-311. Blumenfeld, P.C. et al. (1991). "Motivating project-based learning: sustaining the doing, supporting the learning." Educational Psychologist, 26, 369-398. Shapiro, B. L. (1994). What Children Bring to Light: A Constructivist Perspective on Childrens Learning in Science; New York. Teachers College Press. Helm, J. H., Katz, L. (2001). Young investigators: The project approach in the early years. New York: Teachers College Press. Polman, J. L. (2000). Designing project-based science: Connecting learners through guided inquiry. New York: Teachers College Press. Read More