The Digital Student

Yesterday The Professor was team-teaching a class on evolution and creation. He works with another professor in the Science Dept. and he is the Religionist. Something really interesting happened. It is a small class of about 12 students and about a third of them had laptops. The discussion was about the eye being a really complicated organ. Someone asked, "Do worms have eyes?" The professors did not know, but a few seconds later one of the students raised his hand and said, "No, they don't" and he read a bit of the article he found online.

This proves what so many teachers who use technology say. Laptops DO belong in the classroom... but wait! There is more.

Later in the discussion one of the professors really wanted the students to discuss what Darwin thought about this topic. He was picturing the students predicting this based on what they had learned so far, but right away someone began reading what Darwin ACTUALLY said about it.

We REALLY need to be teaching differently if we want students to think!  There are plenty of facts that are easily findable, but if we want thinking we must focus on something besides facts when we ask questions or preface a question like "What would Darwin think about that?" with "Before you look this up I want to discuss what you think Darwin would say? After we discuss it you can look it up."

Either that or we can get rid of laptops and wireless connections in classrooms. Kids just aren't learning to think!

Image from Wikimedia Commons