Chap. 7 and 8
1. What was the most interesting idea you encountered as you read the chapter?
Gee compared two sentences that conveyed the same idea about hornworms and their rate of growth. One in a vernacular way and one in an academic way. He mentioned that by using one you lose something or gain something. Particularly, with these sentences, one gains empathy for cute little hornworms with the vernacular speech. With the Academic speech, though, one gains understanding of abstract things (significant amount of variety), traits, and categorization of traits. Gee's point is sometimes people will lose what they do in the vernacular language to gain in the academic language, only if the person sees the gain as an actual gain. But, his main point is this, "why would anyone-- most especially a child... accept this loss?" As teachers who want to teach the academic language we need to ask ourselves: "why should the students justify this as a gain in language?" and be able to answer that question well.
2. What connections can you make between Gee's critique and Sir Ken Robinsons' critique of traditional schooling?
Gee was a big proponent of tutorial based learning within a given "Space" (rather than community). He used many video games to create a preferred teaching method and an example of immersion. First and foremost, Gee believes that the learner needs to become the subject, live the world of what they are learning, and then they can learn what they need to succeed, because they will have the situational understanding that is brought through experience.
Robinson talked a lot about creativity, and the way that creativity builds intellegience because of the immersion. Students need to learn to be creative by figuring out new ways of learning. He talked about how one student learn how she learned best by dancing while learning.
Gee was a big proponent of tutorial based learning within a given "Space" (rather than community). He used many video games to create a preferred teaching method and an example of immersion. First and foremost, Gee believes that the learner needs to become the subject, live the world of what they are learning, and then they can learn what they need to succeed, because they will have the situational understanding that is brought through experience.
Robinson talked a lot about creativity, and the way that creativity builds intellegience because of the immersion. Students need to learn to be creative by figuring out new ways of learning. He talked about how one student learn how she learned best by dancing while learning.
3. How did this book change or support your understanding of good teaching?
It definitely taught me that learning doesn't have one right way. and that learning needs to have experience attached to it, rather than boring lecture time. Students not only need meaningful learning, they also need to have authentic, real-life learning that centers around a curriculum that uses situated learning to help students succeed. This is in addition to cultural understanding and building of relationships.
It definitely taught me that learning doesn't have one right way. and that learning needs to have experience attached to it, rather than boring lecture time. Students not only need meaningful learning, they also need to have authentic, real-life learning that centers around a curriculum that uses situated learning to help students succeed. This is in addition to cultural understanding and building of relationships.
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