"As we play out our restless urge to understand and control our surroundings, the power to destroy now rivals the power to invent. Perhaps now, more than ever before, the ability of average citizens to think for themselves may be the best protection in a world of increasing technological and scientific complexity. If so, the skills of skeptical questioning and independent thinking may be essential goals of schooling. "
The above quote eloquently voices my entire argument behind my own passion for teaching. I feel so strongly that cultivating minds that think for themselves should be of utmost importance in any classroom, especially in this day in age where advertising and technological instruments which constantly grant users instant gratification go hand in hand in vegetating intelligent minds in our society. As you can imagine, I agree with Dewey that children should be allowed to learn through direct experience and that, as teachers, we should cultivate their innate sense of curiosity- only then will they truly be able to grow into self-sufficient learners with their own, independent ability to reason. In my mind, didactic teaching should not be the only method in any classroom- especially for students in elementary school! Its sad that there seems to be some sort of dichotomy between didactic and hands-on teaching- of course some information needs to be relayed to children in an explicit manner, but implicit teaching through engaging hands-on activities actually helps children develop the ability to inquire and build their own ways of thinking and learning. I like Bruner's theory that there our brains only have the ability to hold seven discrete bits of information at a time, and that we should therefore help students fill those slots with sincere understanding rather than unconnected facts.
Experiential learning should be at the forefront of any curriculum, because it really is the only type of learning that will have a long lasting effect on students, and will help them learn to shape themselves as highly intelligent individuals who can think for themselves.
"The essence of good teaching lies in framing the right questions, regardless of the sophistication of the subject matter"- Socrates
The above quote eloquently voices my entire argument behind my own passion for teaching. I feel so strongly that cultivating minds that think for themselves should be of utmost importance in any classroom, especially in this day in age where advertising and technological instruments which constantly grant users instant gratification go hand in hand in vegetating intelligent minds in our society. As you can imagine, I agree with Dewey that children should be allowed to learn through direct experience and that, as teachers, we should cultivate their innate sense of curiosity- only then will they truly be able to grow into self-sufficient learners with their own, independent ability to reason. In my mind, didactic teaching should not be the only method in any classroom- especially for students in elementary school! Its sad that there seems to be some sort of dichotomy between didactic and hands-on teaching- of course some information needs to be relayed to children in an explicit manner, but implicit teaching through engaging hands-on activities actually helps children develop the ability to inquire and build their own ways of thinking and learning. I like Bruner's theory that there our brains only have the ability to hold seven discrete bits of information at a time, and that we should therefore help students fill those slots with sincere understanding rather than unconnected facts.
Experiential learning should be at the forefront of any curriculum, because it really is the only type of learning that will have a long lasting effect on students, and will help them learn to shape themselves as highly intelligent individuals who can think for themselves.
"The essence of good teaching lies in framing the right questions, regardless of the sophistication of the subject matter"- Socrates
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