Readings for "Technology Standards and Planning"

     The article from TEAL asked the questions "Do you remember your favorite class in school? In which you learned the best?...This was a class in which you discovered new knowledge and felt motivated to learn both by the instructor and a desire to learn more". Actually, for me, my favorite class ever was one that consisted a 3-hour discussion/lecture on the book we had spent the week reading. I don't say this to reject the thesis that student-centered learning is important; I am only saying that the desire to learn, as the article states, stems first and formost from a teacher who ignites the need to seek knowledge. I recall being so enveloped in the new ideas from my professor's lecture that given the opportunity for any multimedia presentation I would have jumped on it immediately. Like the article says, technology-centered tools allow for the student to have a significant amount of creative freedom, and therefore more fun, with the project.
     There is certainly a reason why "Creating" is put at the top of Bloom's new education taxonomy. It is the culmination of the preceding criteria--understanding, application, etc.--that results in a fully-formed and cohesive project. It denotes a retention of knowledge, and both how to use that information practically while understanding its theoretical value. This of course leads to the much-sought-after prize of higher-level thinking! It is the job of an instructor to prepare the students for a world in which they may not have someone to fall back on for extra help or information. Higher-order thinking is a buttress against students being overhwelmed by new information. It forces them to analyse new information and apply it in a way that is engaging and helpful.
     In the article "Teaching Higher-Order Thinking", it is pointed out that instiling the skills necessary for higher-order thinking requires more effort from the teacher (7). I believe this is absolutely true, and, as an added benefit, is good for both the students and the teacher. The benefits for the students are obvious: greater critical thinking skills, long-term memory practice, the ability to combine and dissect complex chunks of information. Consider, also, that a teacher who is constantly challenged to get his/her students to think must treat each batch of pupils uniquely. There can be no resting on the laurels of last-year's curriculum plan--every new year will have to bring necessary, and often fun, tweeks to the learning environment. After all, the major enemy of learning is boredom. the atmosphere of learning works best when neither the instructor nor the students experience that kiss of death.