About three weeks before the final exam, I told my algebra students that I didn't mind if they cheated. In fact, I thought it was a good idea for them to bring a cheat sheet into the testing room. "But, we could write down all of the answers, Mr. Kapferer." "What answers? You don't know the questions."
They determined to take full advantage of my foolish offer with elaborate diagrams, hordes of example problems, and lengthy lists of definitions and formulas. Even the most carefully prepared crib notes, however, are meaningless in the hands of a student unable to interpret or apply their contents.
We'd spent an entire year building a repertoire of problem-solving skills. At exam time, I am more interested in gauging whether a student knows when and how to use the Pythagorean Theorem than determining if they've committed it to memory. Only in a classroom is that sort of reference material routinely withheld at the precise moment when it would be most handy.
Can you imagine that happening in a workplace? “Bob, I need you to finish those TPS reports... but, I’d prefer that you not look at last month’s for comparison.” “Sally, I hope you’ve got those structural formulas memorized. You'll need them to finish the calculations for the bridge project.” Naturally, Bob could work more efficiently by referencing past work, and Sally’s design would be more sound if she had the necessary guides close at hand. Both may benefit from the feedback of peers.
In an educational setting, we ought to be preparing young people to use the various resources that they already have unfettered access to in the outside world, and will be expected to use in sophisticated ways by future employers. There's no doubt that they’ll have the tools, but will they be able to use them well? Can they quickly find a source of reliable information appropriate to a particular situation? Can they organize data in meaningful ways? Are they able to clearly communicate their ideas to others?
Contemporary computing devices are integral to what should be happening in the classroom. If we’re presenting the right challenges, these devices are less like cheat sheets and more like tools of the trade. In any case, the iPad is a phenomenal cheat sheet.
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We'd spent an entire year building a repertoire of problem-solving skills. At exam time, I am more interested in gauging whether a student knows when and how to use the Pythagorean Theorem than determining if they've committed it to memory. Only in a classroom is that sort of reference material routinely withheld at the precise moment when it would be most handy.
Can you imagine that happening in a workplace? “Bob, I need you to finish those TPS reports... but, I’d prefer that you not look at last month’s for comparison.” “Sally, I hope you’ve got those structural formulas memorized. You'll need them to finish the calculations for the bridge project.” Naturally, Bob could work more efficiently by referencing past work, and Sally’s design would be more sound if she had the necessary guides close at hand. Both may benefit from the feedback of peers.
In an educational setting, we ought to be preparing young people to use the various resources that they already have unfettered access to in the outside world, and will be expected to use in sophisticated ways by future employers. There's no doubt that they’ll have the tools, but will they be able to use them well? Can they quickly find a source of reliable information appropriate to a particular situation? Can they organize data in meaningful ways? Are they able to clearly communicate their ideas to others?
Contemporary computing devices are integral to what should be happening in the classroom. If we’re presenting the right challenges, these devices are less like cheat sheets and more like tools of the trade. In any case, the iPad is a phenomenal cheat sheet.
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