The debate continues about today's students. Are they "multi-taskers" or just great "task switchers"? Most researchers say the brain isn't capable of multi-tasking, but new research is making a different claim.
". . . . These are the questions Julio Martinez-Trujillo, a cognitive neurophysiology specialist from McGill University, and his team set out to answer in a new study on multifocal attention. They found that, for the first time, there's evidence that we can pay attention to more than one thing at a time."
This is interesting research, and we can be sure the debate will continue . . . .
We Are Natural Born Multi-Taskers
As you know, we are in the midst of transitioning our Language Arts and Mathematics curriculum’s to align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Although the CCSS Initiative does not establish new standards for Science and Social Studies (ODE’s Model Curriculum does), it does not mean those areas were left untouched by the CCSS Initiative. In fact, the CCSS Initiative establishes both Reading and Writing Standards for Science and Social Studies.
My selection this week provides a clear and concise 5-step method for students to follow during the writing process.
Writing to Learn
As you will remember from the ILE 2011 Conference, many educators were challenged by the message of keynote speaker Will Richardson. He caused the listeners to think deeply about how the traditional schooling model needs to evolve. He showed us student work samples in which social media was the platform for personal and unique demonstration of learning.
I love this week's article from Richardson because it brings multiple 'hot topics of the day' together for me: the expanding competition being offered to Ohio public schools by charter /community schools, the need to develop college and career readiness in all students, and the importance of creating an environment in which technology is used by students and teachers as a tool for personalized learning.
He asks, "How can we shift curriculum and pedagogy to more effectively help students form and answer their own questions, develop patience with uncertainty and ambiguity, appreciate and learn from failure, and develop the ability to go deeply into subjects about which they have a passion to learn?"
Preparing Students to Learn Without Us
Dr. Mark Weston, national education strategist for Dell, Inc., will be the keynote speaker at the Innovative Learning Environments Conference on July 31, 2012. Dr. Weston wrote this article to show how education has not used technology effectively to “get all children learning at levels beyond their respective aptitudes” and what can be done to make progress with our current circumstances. He begins the article with a reference to Benjamin Bloom’s research 30 years ago which identified certain classroom practices such as feedback, cues, explanations, and classroom participation that each have a positive effect on student achievement. He also cites the research of Marzano and Hattie, which reinforce Bloom’s studies. Despite the work in this field, we have not been able to impact all students. Weston blames “teacher work-load conundrum” for this failure and believes that the only way to maximize results is through the effective use of technology. Unfortunately, the “technology has exerted little overall effect in educational settings and the teaching and learning in them,” he feels. The author continues by suggesting what we as educators can do to impact the way that technologies are used.
How Education Fails Technology (And What to Do About It)
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