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Has Ontario taught its high-school students not to think? | University Affairs

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:06:43 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

most of the students I see are not so much disengaged as poorly trained for university expectations. Students' ability to do analysis and synthesis seems to have been replaced by rote memorization and regurgitation in both the sciences and the humanities. This is a complaint that I hear from instructors in senior high-school classes through to professors in the humanities.

students do not really understand what they are doing even when they have covered the material in high school.

More important is the ability to relate these facts in new ways, to see them in a new light, and to bring quite disparate ideas together to solve new problems or create new forms of art. This ability to analyze and synthesize is what makes good scientists, writers, philosophers and artists. It is the ability needed to drive a knowledge-based economy.

Much of the new curriculum in the junior grades is considered by many experienced teachers to be beyond the mental development of students at that level. This encourages blind memorization rather than understanding.

Moreover, the new curriculum significantly reduces time spent on the visual arts, and was so content-heavy that it greatly limited the amount of time available for developing analytical and conceptual-understanding skills from kindergarten on

much of the teaching at the elementary level is now directed to passing those tests, as schools are rated publicly on the results

our students entering university are a year younger. The teenage brain is still developing its "executive functions" during this time, so students enter university with a year's less ability to analyze and plan ahead.

grade inflation is clearly present

I agree this trend toward video and video games has reduced reading habits and turned the focus off text and onto multimedia delivery of information, but I'm not sure this trend alone has reduced analytical skills. Many video games require deep levels of analytical maneuvering to complete. A great book to read on this is Steven Johnson's book, "Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter" - Sharon Elin

The trend among young people to move away from reading and towards video and video games, means they spend less time developing reading/writing/analytical skills

They do not appreciate that, even as students, they will be expected to develop new knowledge, not just regurgitate existing facts.

Students continue to demonstrate serious deficiencies in problem solving skills, basic math skills, and hands-on laboratory skills when they arrive at the university level

There may be 10 years of students who have been taught not to think, and reversing that effect will be not be easy without a determined effort.

Tags: pedagogy, article2read

by: Sharon Elin

TESL-EJ June 2007 -- Pedagogical affordances of syndication, aggregation, and mash-up of content on the Web

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:24:13 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

I am so impressed by the foresight of these authors! Look at the date - Thomas Ho

Tags: education, pedagogy, syndication, aggregation, rss

by: Thomas Ho

Technology Review: Global Warming Bombshell

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:58:36 -0000

The importance of accurate data

Comments:

The importance of accurate data - Kerry Johnson

Tags: awg, globalwarming

by: Kerry Johnson

Didactical Project: Cultural or Intercultural Competence? - mortempo

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:26:11 -0000

Tags: instructional, technology, education, design

by: Phil Tietjen

Guide to Taking an Online Paralegal Course

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:27:33 -0000

Online paralegal courses are a relatively new concept in legal education, so it can seem a little daunting to enroll in a program taught completely online or through correspondence. The aim of this guide is to provide a better understanding of this alternative mode of education.

Comments:

Online paralegal courses are a relatively new concept in legal education, so it can seem a little daunting to enroll in a program taught completely online or through correspondence. The aim of this guide is to provide a better understanding of this alternative mode of education. - Peter Kimmich

Tags: paralegal, education, online courses, online classes, legal, law

by: Peter Kimmich

Gone missing - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:53:01 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

I keep thinking about a prediction made in the mid-90's by a federal DOE official that in the future, economically disadvantaged students will all have computers while the wealthy students will have human teachers.

I can see this happening. Teaching needs a human face and interaction on some level, especially the lower grades. - Kimberly Herbert

Tags: no_tag

by: Kimberly Herbert

Wake Up and Smell the New Epistemology - The Chronicle Review - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:26:23 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

"It is imperative that someone studying this generation realize that we have the world at our fingertips — and the world has been at our fingertips for our entire lives. I think this access to information seriously undermines this generation's view of authority, especially traditional scholastic authority." Today's students know full well that authorities can be found for every position and any knowledge claim, and consequently the students are dubious (privately, that is) about anything we claim to be true or important.

Of course, this new epistemology does not imply that our students have become skilled arbiters of information and interpretation. It simply means that they arrive at college with well-established methods of sorting, doubting, or ignoring the same. That, by itself, is not troubling. Many professors encourage students to question authority, and would welcome more who challenged and debated ideas. But this new epistemology carries some heavy baggage — indeed, it is inseparably conjoined with personal economics. Short of fame or a lottery win, today's students recognize that a college degree is the minimum credential they will need to attain their desired standard of living (and hence "happiness"). So this new epistemology produces a rather odd kind of student — one who appears polite and dutiful but who cares little about the course work, the larger questions it raises, or the value of living an examined life. And it produces such students in overwhelming abundance.

we must respect students as thinkers, even though their thinking skills may be undeveloped and their knowledge base shallow. Moreover, our respect must be genuine. Students have keen hypocrisy sensors and do not like being patronized.

transparent

It is not just residential-college students who live in a bubble — many faculty members do as well.

Tags: article2read, pedagogy

by: Sharon Elin

Criminal Justice Schools

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:59:50 -0000

Top criminal justice schools and law enforcement training programs, plus degree information and helpful career advice including job descriptions, salary figures, employment stats, and other useful criminal justice info.

Comments:

Top criminal justice schools and law enforcement training programs, plus degree information and helpful career advice including job descriptions, salary figures, employment stats, and other useful criminal justice info. - Peter Kimmich

Tags: criminal justice, education, law, schools, careers

by: Peter Kimmich

The Nation’s Top 10 Diagnostic Medical Sonography Schools

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:44:50 -0000

Here is a quick rundown of the top ten ultrasound technician and diagnostic medical sonographer schools in the country, in alphabetical order, according to US News in 2008.

Comments:

Here is a quick rundown of the top ten ultrasound technician and diagnostic medical sonographer schools in the country, in alphabetical order, according to US News in 2008. - Peter Kimmich

Tags: sonography, ultrasound, healthcare, education, medical, diagnostic medical sonography

by: Peter Kimmich

eLearn: In Depth Tutorials

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 07:22:36 -0000

Tags: no_tag

by: Steve Mackenzie

List of Online Schools

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 23:01:06 -0000

A list of accredited online schools offering diplomas, certificates and degrees.

Comments:

A list of accredited online schools offering diplomas, certificates and degrees. - Peter Kimmich

Tags: accredited, schools, education, online schools, elearning, online learning, online education, online degrees, degrees

by: Peter Kimmich

Education Internet Library

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:50:20 -0000

A collection of free Internet materials designed for help students studying to become teachers, new teachers, and experienced teachers with the art of teaching.

Comments:

A collection of free Internet materials designed for help students studying to become teachers, new teachers, and experienced teachers with the art of teaching.

- Walter Antoniotti

Tags: education, teaching, learning, Internet, free, books, videos, psychology, philosophy, assessment

by: Walter Antoniotti

Online MBA vs Traditional MBA - Which is Best?

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 20:04:41 -0000

With online MBAs becoming more prevalent, students and employers are posing some big, serious questions. Are online MBAs really equivalent to classroom-based degrees? Could they actually provide the same level of business expertise?

Comments:

With online MBAs becoming more prevalent, students and employers are posing some big, serious questions. Are online MBAs really equivalent to classroom-based degrees? Could they actually provide the same level of business expertise? - Peter Kimmich

Tags: mba, degree, business, careers, school, education, onlinemba, businessdegree

by: Peter Kimmich

Censorship by omission

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:44:32 -0000

Tags: privacy, internet, internet_censorship

by: Sharon Elin

Can this Video get Teachers Started? | Future of Education

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:40:01 -0000

Tags: professional_development, educational_technology, pedagogy, web2.0

by: Sharon Elin

Zoho新插件可以将微软的Access数据库转换成网络应用 - 译言翻译

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:19:39 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Zoho新插件可以将微软的Access数据库转换成网络应用

Tags: zoho, access

by: its panther

Best Schools for Pharmacy Technician Degrees

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:15:21 -0000

These established pharmacy technician schools provide a variety of pharmacy technician programs, including different types of degree, different class schedules, and slightly different course content. There are also different options when it comes to online versus campus-based programs.

Comments:

These established pharmacy technician schools provide a variety of pharmacy technician programs, including different types of degree, different class schedules, and slightly different course content. There are also different options when it comes to online versus campus-based programs. - Peter Kimmich

Tags: pharmacytechnician, schools, medical, healthcare, education, pharmaceuticals

by: Peter Kimmich

New Science Of Learning Offers Preview Of Tomorrow's Classroom

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:49:00 -0000

Of all the qualities that distinguish humans from other species, how we learn is one of the most significant.

Comments:

Of all the qualities that distinguish humans from other species, how we learn is one of the most significant. - Sharon Elin

Tags: pedagogy, learning, brain_research

by: Sharon Elin

Beyond Social Networking: Building Toward Learning Communities -- THE Journal

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:31:54 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

intentionally and is where the instructor is very much a necessary support to the process

Tags: learning, web2.0, socialnetworking

by: Thomas Ho

Best Medical Assistant Schools for Associate's Degrees and Certificates

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:39:09 -0000

These career schools and colleges offer established medical assisting programs to students across the country...

Comments:

These career schools and colleges offer established medical assisting programs to students across the country... - Peter Kimmich

Tags: medicalassistant, medicalassisting, education, schools, degrees

by: Peter Kimmich