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Heather Beck's final unit

Dale,

I know you wanted all of these earlier, but I just got back from 3 1/2 weeks in Germany with the in-laws (it was more fun than it sounds) and I was too jetlagged to get my act together yesterday.  I added a 5 paragraph essay as the culminating knowledge piece.  They will also have to create a "Columbus Day" activity which honors other cultures.

 

In addition, I am still interested in the terrorisim information you offered.  My address is:

16303 Essex Park Drive

Anchorage, AK  99516

 

Thank you!  The two ANUAH courses I took at the academy were some of the most interesting, most helpful and the toughest I have taken since grad school! 

 

Heather Beck

ThreeWorldsMeet-SearchforSocialJustice (2).pdf

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  • Hi Heatrher

     

    Lucky You-- I'd LOVE to be in Germany for 3 weeks.Thank you for the  feedback re the course. I had a great time too and enjoyed working with all of the teachers VERY very much. They were an incredibly thoughtful, dedicated and hard-working group.

     

    I am still concerned about the use of the term"know" I can "kn ow" something well enough to write a book about it or select the correct response from a multiple choice test item--BOTH satisfy the criteria of "knowing" but the levels of knowledge are VERY different. Knowing is impossible to assess because it does not define what quantity of quality of "knowing"  BUT, describe, evaluate, snythesize, explain, etc at least give SOME indication of HOW students would demonstrate their knowledge. 

     

    A second concern I expressed earlier is that if you do not specify skill or dispositional objectives, the only assumption that students and other can make is that those areas are not important. The lessons DO give students opportunities to make gains in those areas, BUT it their attention is not systematically directed at objectives in those topics the opportunities will probably not translate into gains. Fort example, just because students have a group work assignment, does not guarantee that they will learn how to work together any better UNLESS the teachers prefaces the activity with an intro indicating that while they are  working in groups he/she wants them to attend to how well they listen to each other and then, after the activity, discusses how well that listened, what worked, and what they might do better next time. It we don't teach it, we can't assume that it will happen by osmosis! Without the skills to use knowledge or a sense of efficacy and responsibility as well as support for democratic principles NONE of the knowledge you teach will ever be used in a civic context! You might as well teach them the art of plowing with oxen or an dead ancient language. Democratic dispositions and skills are essential for students to take inert knowledge out of their heads--if they even retain it as they see it as meaningless school stuff- and use it as citizens in a democracy that is part of a global community.  PLEASE think about this when you reflect on the lessons!

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