1. The experiences that I have had outside of school have given me a great deal of content area knowledge. I believe that the experiences I have had outside of school are more deeply ingrained in my memory, and more useful to me. For example, a few years ago I spent some time studying abroad in Botswana. While there, I spent a few days at a site that was rich in archeology. I saw some cave paintings and some engravings, and had many conversations with a guide who was knowledgeable about the history of the area. In those few days, I learned so much about the archeology of Botswana that I will never forget. Had I read a book about the same information, I would most likely not remember anything now, several years later. However, because I had a real-life experience, I have a deeper understanding of the content and will remember it much longer. When I think about the things that I learned from outside-of-school experiences, they always seem more meaningful and I gain more knowledge from them. I believe that this is partly due to the fact that I choose what I want to learn about on my own time. For instance, a few weeks ago I took a segway tour of Golden Gate Park. I was personally interested in the history of the area, and what I learned from that tour gave me a deep understanding of he history of the park. This has applied to many different experiences I've had, including the books I choose to read in my free time, where I spend my vacations, and what museums I go to on the weekends. Of course, I learned a lot in school as well, and these were valuable content learning experiences. Out-of-school learning does not downgrade the importance of in school learning, but I have personally learned a lot of valuable content from these experiences. The only problem with relying on out-of-school experiences to gain content knowledge is that it can't be relied on to give you the breadth of knowledge that you might need.
2. I found our class discussion of the Ball article very interesting. When I read the article, I didn't get the impression that the author was trying to insult teachers for lacking content knowledge. I thought that she was pointing out the need for teachers to keep learning and pursuing knowledge, even though it is nearly an impossible task to know everything about all the things we have to teach. It was interesting to me that some people in the class thought she was insulting teachers' content knowledge. However, when they explained their points of view, I could see where they got that impression from. I agree with the main point of the article, which in my opinion is that teachers can't assume that they know everything just because they've been to school. They always need to be looking for opportunities to learn more.
3. I am still not 100% confident in my line of inquiry. I changed my idea a few days ago, and I like my new idea much better than my old one. However, I think it will be more difficult to do experiential research for this topic. I want to look at the American Revolution, and I'm not sure if there are any museums around here that focus on that (since the revolution obviously happened on the East Coast). However, I haven't done much research about this yet, so I will keep looking.
Who I've Responded To:
Alex Iwaszewicz
Allison Rayford
Jocelyn Rohan
Christina, I completely agree with your views on learning outside the classroom. Information has always been retained more clearly when I was submersed in the environment. What a wonderful experience you had in Botswana. I found your example really interesting because I teach about ancient civilizations in 6th grade core, and I am always trying to find new ways for archeology to come alive in the classroom. I would love to have a similar experience to help build my background content knowledge and provide pictures, stories, and resources that I could incorporate into my curriculum. Thank you for sharing your experience in Botswana.
ReplyDeleteChristina, Your outside the classroom learning experiences you have had sound so valuable. I think nothing helps understanding more than hands on experience such as visiting Botswana or learning the history of Golden Gate Park. I agree with you about how both outside school experiences as well as in school experiences contribute to learning. I think it would be amazing if we as teachers could find ways to integrate what we learn in school to outside school learning as well, even if it is just providing students with information about where to visit to learn more.
ReplyDeleteHi Christina,
ReplyDeleteCabot science and space center may be a great fieldtrip to take students. Many times they have an exhibit about weather. Another idea you can set up is having your students visit KTVU news station specifically for the meteorologist area. Fieldtrips are my favorite because the whole world becomes the classroom. I agree with the statement made concerning instructions done in class verse outside of class. No matter where you are in this world no one can take the place of the teacher.
As for Ball’s discussion, I agree that it wasn’t an attack on teachers. It was simply a way to say content is extremely important and learning happens when content is present. Strategies using hand on learning is the key to a successful science foundation. My fondest memories involve science through inquiry activities and Labs.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteI found your experience in your personal education wonderful. I had the opposite experience; and wow, the differences of impact is quite evident. I can hardly remember the content knowledge I learned at school. Most of my educational experience was book, pencil, and paper. Real life learning experience is such a monsterous differnece in how we learn and not forget what we learned because it is so hands on. I agree with you that Ball was not attacking nor insulting teachers; however, is there an article or suggestions out there on how we can become more educated in our content instead of reading why we should. I think that we all agree that with the "whys".