Source of idea: http://www.hightechhigh.org/unboxed/issue8/wild_about_cramlington/
Can you remember what they were?” Immediately, the students name every single one. After all, regurgitation is easy, but putting knowledge into practice is the difficult challenge.
This is just a quote from the link shared above. I have given much thought to teaching practices and how we teach our students. I always reflect on how I teach and if I am truly doing things right.
This statement just stands out to me. How many kids can simply memorize terms, vocab, formulas, definitions, dates, etc. yet one week later probably could not pass the test they just aced?
The question I pose is, “What good does this type of learning do for our students?”
Nothing. They are simply jumping through hoops. Have students understand momentum and physics. Have them understand the basics. Then have them put the knowledge to use. Our 8th grade teachers had students build trebuchets and other projectile flying devices. Not only did students have to learn the field of physics, but they had to apply it. Now the students had to build an apparatus that demonstrated their learning. They had to tweak this, change that, rebuild this part, etc. This caused them to bring their learning to a whole new level. This forced them to put their knowledge to practice.
Knowledge is not as needed as it once was. I use my iPhone to find any answer I want in seconds. The key is what I do with that information. I can read about building a garden box for my kids at home to plant their own garden. It is easy to find instructions. It is something else altogether for me to actually build it and make it look good for my kids to use.
This is a reason why I love Project Based Learning. It does as the quote states. It puts knowledge into practice.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this and what you do as an educator to make sure that students are just simply regurgitating information.
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