Here is my response

The Gates Tip Line includes a recent post in which the host asks for replies to a teachers negative analysis of Prensky’s comments (I did not see the phrase “engage me or enrage me”, but this is the type of comment that Prensky uses). The host was disappointed with the lack of response to the request for responses to the teacher. I attempted to add a comment, but the options appear to require that you identify yourself through a commercial blog service or OpenID. I will add my comment here. By the time I read the comments, some had already made the effort to reply. I have excerpted one comment I would like to address:

The teacher’s statements above fly in the face of what the last two decades of psychological research have found (which (surprise!) support constructivist models of learning rather than a transmission model of education!). ‘Guide on the side,’ not ‘sage on the stage.’ As much as possible, discovery- and inquiry-based learning rather than lecture and regurgitation.

I don’t like phrases like “regurgitation”. These discussions should be about data and sound judgment. We can leave the defamatory phrases to the politicians. If you mean memorization, say so. I do agree that education should attempt to require more than memorization. Lecturing, like books, is an information delivery system. Hopefully, learners are capable of using information, however they encounter it, as the starting point for learning. The constructivist model, as I understand it, suggests we all understand by attempting to interpret experiences (including lectures I assume) based on our existing personal knowledge.

I would sincerely like to be made aware of the research mentioned here (please provide references). If you have followed my recent and past comments, I have not read what I consider quality research supporting the “child-centered” position. I have read many books and articles on the topic and I have myself added to this material, but these are not research papers. As I have said, I can direct you to reviews of research by Sweller; Chall; Mayer; and Lesgold that are quite critical. You have to consult these reviews for the specific studies that are available. So, there are many studies arguing the negative side of this debate.

Perhaps this is a matter of differences in definition – constructivism and child-centered are difficult to operationalize. I am not attempting to bait anyone here, but since blog hosts are appealing to general readership for help and information. If we can switch the discussion to the data, please help by offering references the rest of us can review. I have already read negative reviews, where are the positive studies?????

Chall, J. (2000). The academic achievement challenge: What really works in the classroom. Guilford.

Kirschner, P.A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R.E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work. Educational Psychologist, 41, 75-86.

Lesgold, A. (2001). The nature and methods of learning by doing. American Psychologist, 56(11), 964-973.

Mayer, R. (2001). Should there be a three-strikes rule against pure discovery? The case for guided methods of instruction. American Psychologist, 59, 14-19.

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An Inconvenient Truth

This post is chronologically inaccurate, but the order in which you are reading this material is possibly more interesting.

Front sidewalk

I took this picture a few minutes ago. This is my front sidewalk. In a way, it is a remarkable image. What you see is water between the snow banks. This is January 6 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. According to the Weather Underground, the average high for the day is 15. The temperature at 3 today was 41. My little story would have been more spectacular if this was an all-time record, but alas this was not the case. In 1990, it made it to 43. I was here for that day as well.

I purchased An Inconvenient Truth from the iTunes music store before Christmas. I own an iPod Touch and the plan was to watch the movie while on the road over break. I finally watched most of the movie today while I worked out. This documentary is very compelling and I highly recommend it. I would like to say it was enough to get me to move from the powered elliptical to a self powered stationary bike, but this would not be true. I have written on the topic of this documentary before, but each time I am exposed to the information I feel the need to comment again (see this TED talk). I guess it was the connection between the content of the documentary and the view out the window of the health club that prompted this post.

Of course, any single event offers little proof of a trend. However, it seems to me that I have experienced a large number of record temperatures. The data are there. As I looked for the records for the day (43, -31), it occurred to me that student projects might be derived from these data. For example, I wonder how many record temperatures were set in the past 5 years.

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