John Dewey--Democracy in Education

The first important idea that I got out of Dewey's first chapter is the transmission of old information into new hands. It is so amazing to think about all the information that we have today because of what past generations have given us. If our ancestors did not come up with some of the ideas and philosophies that we have today, it is unnerving to think of where we might be today. Imagine if the concept of democracy was never thought of. Where would our country be right now? Certainly, it would not be the most powerful country in the world if not for democracy. The transmission of ideas from one generation to the next is crucial to the development of any society.

The second idea that I found to be important is that there needs to be a balance between formal and informal education. Formal education by schooling is critical to the needs of any society, but it is also important for people to learn skills from each other. These skills to not need to be taught in a classroom necessarily; many important skills, such as socialization and communication, are learned through observation and practice. Children are not lectured by their teachers on how to form friendships and other relationships with people. They learn social skills by observing their family members and friends take turns during conversations at the dinner table or in the grocery store. Once children get older, they begin to practice the "turn-taking" process of conversation with others their age. While formal education is imperative for any society to flourish, there also needs to be emphasis placed on the informal.

The third concept that I found interesting in this chapter is that all communication is educational, whether you agree with it or not. I especially like when Dewey refers to all communication as art and that all who participate in it are, in turn, educated by it. There are many instances where I may not agree with a classmate during a discussion, but I always try to see their point of view and take something away from it for my own benefit. For example, I was initially blown away by the girl in class who shared that she had her second graders create a PowerPoint presentation. The reason I thought this way is because the students in my Partial Hospitalization class would not have the patience to complete a PowerPoint presentation, let alone have the basic skills to do research. Once I listened to her reasoning and took into account the levels of students that she teaches, I was able to see her point of view and use it to benefit my own thinking process.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Throughout the duration of my secondary education, I predominately experienced Bloom's Taxonomy on the lower end of the spectrum. Most often, I experienced Remembering, Understanding, and Applying during high school and even in the beginning of my undergraduate education. I remember constantly memorizing vocabulary terms and dates for history tests, rehearsing lines of Shakespeare plays for British literature, and memorizing math formulas for pre-calculus class. It was in math classes that I believe I experienced the highest use of the application category because I remember always memorizing formulas and then actually putting them to use while solving problems. Not all of my classes were like that. Much of the information I learned was purely through memorization, and then I most likely forgot what was taught to me after the test. Post-secondary education definitely utilizes higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy through incorporation projects, presentations, and in-depth research and opinion papers into the curriculum to challenge one's thinking.

I believe that the reason why I experienced the basic levels of Bloom's taxonomy in secondary schooling is because that is the time where I was learning the basics. Everything was more generalized in terms of subjects and topics in high school. For the most part, everyone learned the same information and were given a basic foundation for learning. In post-secondary education, students choose their majors and have a more specific course of study. Their learning, therefore, becomes more in-depth and focused on the mastery of one subject area. This is where the application of the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy come into play and students are able to really hone their skills.

Why should educators integrate technolgy into the curriculum?

Due to the vast amount of students who utilize technology today, I believe that it is beneficial and worthwhile for educators to integrate technology in their curriculum. Beginning at a young age, children are given computers and are easily able to understand how to use them. Technology has become the universal language to connect students and learning.
Since students have grown up with access to technology, they are more comfortable with using technology in their learning processes. Many students find it easier to use technology to enhance their knowledge rather than using the routine textbooks and worksheets. Personally, I use technology to increase and keep the interest of my students. They seem to respond better to using computers and PowerPoint presentations instead of listening to lectures from their teachers day after day. Also, by utilizing podcasts and educational videos during class time helps to bring the content area to life. For example, a teacher doing a lesson on the rain forest can show a video of an actual rain forest "at work" for his or her students to experience. This is far more interesting and beneficial to students than viewing a picture of a rain forest in a textbook.
While I do not believe that technology can fully take the place of actual lectures, textbook learning, and class discussions, I believe that it is a useful resource for educators to implement into their curriculum.