#5 Know “Where” Learning
I chose this shift because it was one of the only ones where I had an “I am not so sure about that” reaction. Part of me has not totally shifted to embrace this idea. What bothered me is the statement “it’s not as essential to know what the answer is as it is to know where to find it”. I agree that information is so readily available that we can easily find what we need in a matter of seconds. But, I still feel that we do need to know the answers. What about daily conversation? Job interviews? The SATs?
So far, I do think this shift has affected my teaching practice. I can be more sure of topic with some quick research before a lesson. I have looked up something mid-lesson when I was not sure of an answer. Thank goodness I can find what I need quickly.
In the future, I can’t imagine what I will need to know that is not already there. Perhaps it is the way I find information that will change. Since taking this course, I have embraced RSS, and I am still working on tagging and social bookmarking. I think these technologies will become second nature for me to find the information I need. I now look at the Internet in layers or mining. There is the Google search layer that gives you little pieces, but then there is the blog layer underneath. It is a little harder to find the information you are looking for, but there are so many little gems waiting to be unearthed.
To facilitate this shift in your own classroom, I might offer more online tests. After working with students on valuable sites, I might give an assessment where they will use the Internet to find the answers to the test. I might use a wiki or blog to grade students on mastery.
The traditional teacher in me still wants to hang onto memorization, but I know that for a majority of concepts, know “where” learning is a better approach.
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Yes, I agree that basic information must be learned and retained. At the same time, the amount of available information is growing exponentially every day and we all will need to know how to find it quickly and efficiently. I often tell my students with learning difficulties that it is as important to know where to find it as it is to know it.
Posted April 23, 2008, 7:26 pmI had the same reaction to the quote “it’s not as essential to know what the answer is as it is to know where to find it” unless we go further with the idea that once you find it, as with any resource, it will be learned. I have always allows by own students to use resources at hand on most pf our mathematics work. But resources alone do not seem to be able to really bring about learning. The key has to be what we do with those resources.
Posted April 24, 2008, 12:48 pm