This post is in response to a prompt from the blog of the professor.
I am one that followed the idea that students' thinking is changed because of the technology that is available. And, to be honest, it is a thinking that is very difficult for me to change. Maybe it is because it is a popular belief and one that I have been hearing for quite some time. However, one of the key points that was brought up in the post prompt was "the only thing that can be said about today’s student, based upon
reliable and valid research, is that they are more narcissistic than any
previous generation". Maybe we as educators are taking this fact and transferring it to the use of digital tools and abilities and drawing false conclusions because of that.
It is very frustrating as a high school teacher, to ask students to do basic research for a project and students saying to me, "What do I put into Google?" or "Where can I find the answer?" Some students type the exact question that I put on the instruction page into Google hoping to get adequate results. They want the answer immediately and with the least amount of work possible. And I guess that is one of the negatives of the vast amount of information that is available to them. We have to teach the skill of critical thinking, analysis, and problem solving. Essentially, we should be cultivating students that have higher level skills when they leave high school then we had the capability of having.
If a colleague had the idea of digital natives and bought into the idea that our students were different, I would try to redirect their thinking. Many view this "change" as a negative (and it can be when looking at the real root which is narcissism). We as educators have the chance to take the negative and make it into a positive. Yes it will be hard. Yes the students will push back as we start to push them towards higher levels. But that is what we signed up for: to push, to prod, and to make them that much stronger then they leave our classes.
Alicen,
ReplyDeleteI can see how a high school student might want to put a question you give to them right into a google search (I would have probably done the same in H.S.!), how would you re-direct their thinking, so that they figure out another way to get the answer?
-Casey
I agree there can be some negatives to an increase of technology use, especially when it means that the student's are working less. We want our students, overall, to learn how to learn. A lot of their misuse comes from the lack of training.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting article that I read the other week was in Time Magazine and it was called "Me, me, me." It's an interesting perspective on the generation of those born from 1980 to 2000. I had my student government kids read this article and it started a really good conversation.
Alicen, if Prensky's thesis was valid, the students wouldn't be asking you "What do I put into Google?" Based on Prensky's logic, if you put the students in a technologyless library they would not be able to find the information, but if you put them in front of a computer that they can magically find everything they need because they can ONLY learn with technology.
ReplyDeleteWell that just proves even more that his ideas are wrong. I know for a fact that a majority of my students would have absolutely no idea where to go or what the first step was in a technologyless library!
DeleteInteresting comment about students conducting basic research. So many people want instant gratification that they cannot think for themselves. On a 4th grade level, I had so many students asking questions, looking for answers, that I finally had to tell them it was time to think for themselves. It was a difficult conversation but students need to learn to think on their own and not always depend on someone else.
ReplyDeleteOne would think that by high school it would be a skill that wouldn't need to be taught!
DeleteAlicen, Unfortunately the inability of many students to critically think and evaluate issues and to be able to do in-depth research from a variety of resources extends to undergraduate college levels!
DeleteThis past year I taught an information literacy class to junior Biology students. They had to choose, research, and create a literature review about an amphibian species. For many of them, this was the first 'open-ended' research assignment with advanced library databases. They didn't like that the professor didn't have the answers for them, rather, "they" were responsible for determining if their research was complete and correct! It took awhile but they really grew through this assignment!
If you as a teacher and work through the mumbling and grumbling that the kids often do, it is a huge benefit to them as learners!
DeleteAlicen,I agree that the root of the perceived changes in learners is actually narcissism rather than true changes in how they learn. This makes it particularly difficult for educators! Students are often fully supported in their self-centered view of the world, not because they are bad, but often because they are valued.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that kids will live up to what you believe of them, especially if they have encouragement and guidance. We want to hone critical thinking and collaborative skills and that work is HARD on students. They are able, but it could be a new experience for them!
Thanks for sharing!
Exactly. And when kids come to my high school classroom, it is especially hard to change that view if they have been "encouraged" with it throughout their education.
ReplyDelete