June 22, 2009
in a text called Literacy for the 21st Century, Thoman and Jolls make this statement about schooling of the past being focused on making sure students learn facts, and making sure they know those facts by testing them. But now it’s about giving students the tools to find “what they need to know when they need to know it”(9), and teaching them to determine if the information they find is useful and what they actually want.
i believe the above statement says something very true of today. in fact, i’m thinking maybe it was always supposed to be that way–that students were always supposed to be taught the skills to find information on their own. but the pressures of grading and testing got most folks caught up in the teaching of, the searching for, and the spitting out of facts. forget knowing how/where to find them–just give the answers to me now.
but now, information is much more accessible–right there at the click of a mouse–so maybe this helps the focus return to teaching the skills necessary to decipher accurate and appropriate information.
I agree that, in addition to concrete knowledge, we need to give students a toolbox of skills such that they can go out and become active learners/find information when they need it.
You will likely need to struggle against traditional notions of testing and instruction that still can dominate a school…and try to carve out a space for learning that is richer and more relevant…