Most educators agree that teaching for comprehension is the
highest
priority. The student should have mastered the subject
matter by
developing an understanding of the material. This should
enable
the student to apply the facts and principles in apporpriate
situations. However, that kind of teaching requires a great
deal
of effort and skill. Under pressure to "cover" an exessive
list
of topics, it is much easier to simulate "higher level thinking"
with
rote techniques. Too often, to get a good evaluation, the
teacher
does not want to know how much the students really understand.
But to produce a plausable record to justify awarding high
grades.
Here are some examples you may find in the text books, with
which you can demonstrate to students that, "It says so in the
book",
is not proof that it is true. Unfortunately, if they have
been
learned as true in a previous class, unlearning can be extremely
difficult.
It is no longer necessary to use
contrived situations,
or old data. The Internet provides access to the raw data
from
which
professional researchers work. Much of these data are in
"real
time",
or "near real time". Of course this means that the "right"
answers
won't be in the teacher's manual. They can be used in
examples,
assignments,
and activities which are both more interesting and more meaningful
than
the stale examples from the book.
Lesson plans need to adapted to the particular teaching
situation.
Resources available to teachers will vary. Teaching
styles
vary greatly, none is best for every teacher all the time.
Learning styles of students vary even within a
"homogeneously
grouped" class. The background for, and contexts whithin
which a
particular topic is presented also vary. It is expected that
the
teacher will revise, edit, and otherwise refine suggested lesson
plans
to obtain the greatest advantage for each student.
