In any assignment, the first Boolean search that a kid engages in should be a cognitive one.
Regardless of the increase in connectivity and the ability to “Google” answers from an increasing number of electronic devices, it doesn’t eliminate the need for developing a strong frame-of-reference and ability to sort information mentally according to easily retrievable categories. Students need not be versed in every nuance of every class, but there must be a foundation of content knowledge that permits them to draw connections and stimulate further thought when presented with a problem.
Even before students “Google” information, they should spend time engaging in thought about how to best inquire about what topics and keywords are necessary to hit on the most relevant information. This can only be accomplished with prior knowledge. If they don’t, we are only creating a society that wanders sheepishly along and, rather than generate their own ideas, considers the first hit on Google to be doctrine. In addition, we would be teaching kids that efficiency is not necessary in a time when speed dominates over mass.
In a previous post (The Ugly Truth of What We Teach In Schools), I spoke about the need for students to learn the most important information for quick retrieval so that they could investigate the topic deeper using 21st century tools. This should not and cannot be confused with a lack of importance for students not needing to develop prior knowledge. Even if kids could “Google” every question they were asked, they still need to be able to draw on past experiences and ideas that they have come across to generate complex connections between multiple topics.
What I do agree with is that the concept of “prior learning” that was necessary when most of us were in school is now outdated and needs to be overhauled. In other words, education needs to change with the times and technology available (imagine that). Rather than throwing our hands up in the air and suggesting for the elimination of a need for prior knowledge we should be spending time identifying what prior knowledge is the most important for developing student inquiry and discussion.
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Nice comments Aaron,
My learning on this topic came from my first 10-2 class in which I wanted them to gather the information with little input from me. What I realized 20-25 minutes into their ‘research time’ was that they were so deficient in figuring out related search terms that they simply used the terms I had given and were scrolling through pages and pages of useless results. I used this as a teachable moment with the class, but from that point forward I have been far more proactive in my approach to the infamous ‘Google search.’ It is absolutely necessary to teach how to search before they try it!
Nicely put. Reading is not the same as knowing. Accessing information is not the same as understanding it. You’ve said it more eloquently than I could but prior learning helps us build the connections necessary for our ownership of information and ideas.
Thanks for the great post Aaron. You always move us into such interesting areas of thought. I’ve been teaching soft research skills in ways similar to what you’re describing. My students are doing a lot of “Google searches” but I’m trying to help them understand the importance of what they already know. They need to learn to go inward for the impetus to discover something new.
Steve,
That’s a huge component of what new teachers and “progressives” seem to be abandoning in our technology rich environment. If students never have to look inward, then they have no idea what they need to find out or uncover. I don’t suggest kids need to know every battle of the Civil War, but being able to evaluate some important historical information (like potential advantages and disadvantages of the North & South) so that they can uncover new information and take their knowledge deeper is an important component of the cognitive process. For some educators to suggest that “everything I need to know Google will tell me” seems a bit absurb and leaves me wondering if they control the technology or the technology controls them.
Just food for thought. Thanks as always!
AE