Using Technology to Support Information Literacy & Brain-based Learning
Summary:
[Researchers cannot understand the process by which… -
II]Children cannot acquire information literacy skills [odd combination of words? Perhaps the author could briefly explain why
he or she is employing Hancock’s terminology here? - II]independent
of content, nor without attention to the relationship between learning, cognition and the
contributions information technologies can make.[poorly
constructed opening sentence: children can acquire literacy skills without attention to
relationships between learning, etc. - II] This article
summarizes a 12-part framework relating how the brain learns, making connections to
effective teaching practice using a variety of information resources.[where
did the author get the framework or how was it developed? - II]
Every day of their lives, most school-age children in the U.S. are exposed to volumes of
information through a profusion of delivery systems -- television, video games, multimedia
computer systems, audio and videotape, compact disc,[I
don’t buy this assumption -II] and oh yes, print. These children are
as comfortable programming the VCR with their wristwatch-size remotes as we once were with
setting the coffee maker to perk first thing in the morning.[I
suppose I buy this one, although I don’t know how to set my coffeemaker
to brew in the morning. -II] [This comment seems a bit trite. Is this true?
Are these skills really as ubiquitous as the author asserts? - EE]
In the workplace, businesses are re-tooling with advanced technologies and acquiring
access to complex, comprehensive information systems to streamline operations. It is
not surprising that employers now expect higher levels of technological and information
literacy skills from workers than ever before. [citations to
support this common assumption - II] Some entry-level jobs for high-school
graduates now require the same skills necessary for university level coursework, and at
the current rate of technological obsolescence, workers can expect to retrain more than
ten times during their lives (U.S. Office of Education, 1996). Considering the exposure
our youth have to a variety of technological gadgets and information resources, one would
think the transition from school to workplace would be second nature.[again
I’m not certain that access to technology in the schools necessarily feeds into the
challenge of transitioning into the workplace: numerous researcher, e.g, Schank, would in
fact argue that transfer of school-based learning has long been an historical problem -
II] Not so.[This implies that technology
skills are essentially trivial, an assertion I agree with, but my problem is that the
issue of media/technical literacy is essentially one of critical discourse and constant
reflection. If technology skills are not the main driver for media and general literacy,
then the case the author makes below for the inclusion of technology within each principle
isn’t really compelling to me. The goal of critical discourse is as well served in a
low tech environment as a high tech one. I’m also wary of the assertion that
information technology requires years of practice to utilize. Many software engineers
responsible for the creation of the technology used in the workplace come from low tech
environments, environments that have not apparently hindered their acquisition of the
required skills sets. - EE] Only by example from their teachers and peers,
through a planned program of instruction, and after years of practice can children develop
the collection of information literacy skills soon to be required of them in their work
environments. (For a concise description of information literacy and its component
skills, see Hancock, 1993.)[this parathetical statement
requires fleshing out earlier - II] Children cannot acquire information
literacy skills independent of content, nor without attention to the relationship between
learning, cognition and the contributions information technologies can make to learning.[redundant - II]
[I’d argue this. Is access to information technology
really a necessary precursor to literacy? - EE]
Through extensive collection and analysis activities, Caine and Caine (1991, 1997) have
summarized and consolidated research on the human brain. They have developed
principles that serve as a general theoretical framework for brain-based learning[I’m sorry but this is a bit trite – most learning is (I
sincerely hope) "brain-based" - EE] and provide guidelines for
defining and selecting programs for successful teaching and effective learning. The
Caine's twelve principles are stated below, each with a brief explanation. The
author has suggested each principle's application to teaching information literacy skills
and the technologies that support effective learning.
1. The Brain is a Parallel Processor.
The brain is always doing many things at one time. For the educator, this means that
a vast collection of classroom activities and teaching methods should be available for
"orchestration" or[Is "or" the right
word here? Otherwise the sentence is a fragment - II] students' many brain activities: thoughts, emotions, imagination,
predispositions. Students should learn early the many ways in which they may access
and explore information resources -- text, still graphics, motion video, graphs and
charts, audio recordings, oral dialogue, online interaction -- and of the distinct
"personalities" of each.[Though earlier the author
has suggested that children are routinely given access to multiple information types in
school? - II]
[My interpretation of this statement is that a broad
exposure to media types helps to foster media/information literacy. But the author has
argued in the first paragraph that most kids have a broad range of media exposure, so it
would seem to me that what is MOST critical is not exposure, but a critical analysis of
how media affects the student cognitively and viscerally, and the ways in which these
impacts are exploited for specific ends. - EE]
2. Learning Engages the Entire Physiology
Learning is a function as natural as breathing, and it can be either inhibited or
facilitated. The teacher who wishes to facilitate learning must consider that
everything that affects physiological functioning affects a student's capacity to learn --
stress, nutrition, exercise, relaxation, drugs, cultural habits and beliefs, and natural
development. Teachers should select, and help students learn to select for
themselves, information resources that are not only appropriate to instructional tasks but
that are responsive to learners' individual needs.[This
seems like a very tall order to place on teachers! -II]
[The author’s assertion doesn’t seem to follow the
principle. If physiology is the issue, then I’m not sure how information resources
play a role in inhibiting or facilitating learning within this principle. - EE]
3. The Search for Meaning is Innate.
The brain's quest to make meaning out of experience cannot be stopped; it can only be
channeled and focused. As a result, the learning environment must first establish
stability and familiarity while providing for novelty, discovery, and challenge in
instructional activities. The use of a variety of learning technologies for
instruction provides the constancy learners need[How can
various technologies provide constancy? - II] while allowing for
individual exploration and inquiry.
[How? It’s one thing to say that a broad range of
learning activities is a good thing (an assertion already made), but the suggestion to do
so leaves a lot to be desired in terms of instructional technology. Is it better than
lower tech classroom activities (a point I’d argue)? How does constancy play a role
(I’d argue that there is virtually no constancy in instructional tech applications).
Again, my major problem is that the application of the principle to ed tech is
ill-supported and opaque. - EE]
4. The Search for Meaning Occurs through "Patterning."
The brain naturally and constantly seeks order, integration, and structure in day-to-day
experience.[so the novelty that teachers are striving for in
the previous section almost sounds like something they ought to avoid - II] A
teacher conscious of this phenomenon presents activities that allow students to extract
patterns and relationships from initially unrelated or seemingly random information.
The teacher as facilitator and guide helps students interact with a variety of print and
non-print information, mechanical and electronic materials, extracting information and
discovering relationships within it. The teacher cannot do this "for"
students but should encourage them to engage in patterning activities as part of
instruction.
[But what does that mean? No one is going to argue this
point, but no one is going to benefit from it either. - EE]
5. Emotions Are Critical to Patterning.
The attitudes and experiences we bring to the learning environment affect the patterns we
extract from it. Teachers must account for both the cognitive and metacognitive
perspectives students bring to their own learning. When interacting with a variety
of information resources, it is the teacher's responsibility to acquaint students with the
influence each medium has on the messages they receive, to help them become intelligent
consumers of not only the information, but the delivery system.[Notably, while I agree with most of the presuppositions involving
learning, I find the advice given to teachers on how to address them, at best, vague and
discouraging… HOW are teachers supposed to accomplish some of the charges the author
is confidently handing to them! -II]
[Fair enough, but how? If awareness depends on critical discourse, then how is that
discourse generated and supported? How can ed or info tech support that discourse?
Contributed to literacy? - EE]
6. The Brain Processes Parts and Wholes Simultaneously.
While the two hemispheres of the brain process information differently, this processing is
interactive. Students understand and retain information better when their teachers
expose them to the parts of a knowledge base while acquainting them with the whole, or
larger picture. Careful selection and use of a variety of information resources that
focus on an instructional theme or topic provide opportunities for this interactivity.
[Again – What does this mean? No one will argue the
principle but there is nothing substantive in the assertion. - EE]
7. Learning Involves Both Focused Attention and Peripheral Perception.
The brain absorbs information of which it is both directly and indirectly aware. In the
classroom, the teacher should construct a learning environment that takes into account the
direct instruction students will receive and the indirect stimuli that will affect and
enhance learners' experiences. Peripheral materials can include charts,
illustrations, technological tools, music, and artworks, in addition to the traditional
concerns for light, temperature, and noise.[oddly
constructed sentence - II]
[Again – Sure. No one’s going to argue the point, but there is no insight here.
- EE]
8. Learning Always Involves Conscious and Unconscious Processes.
We learn much more than we can acknowledge because of the brain's ability to process large
amounts of peripheral information. Students should be allowed to process actively
what they are learning and take charge of their development of personal meanings.
Students can learn to recognize and personalize the content presented in their classes by
exploring metaphors and analogies as they interact with a variety of information resources
and technologies.[I’m assuming that it’s pretty
much impossible for teachers to inform the "unconscious" processes of their
students. - II]
[same point as above - EE]
9. We Have at Least Two Different Kinds of Memory: A Spatial Memory System and a Set
of Systems for Rote Learning.
Our spatial memory system is universal and inexhaustible; it is motivated by novelty and
becomes enriched over time. Our rote learning system organizes facts and skills that
require more practice and rehearsal. Traditional education emphasizes rote learning
and largely ignores learning transfer and developing understanding. With guided,
orchestrated interaction, students can use a variety of information resources and
technologies to develop deeper and richer understandings as they acquire knowledge.
[same point as above - EE]
10. We Understand and Remember Best When Facts and Skills are Embedded in Natural, Spatial
Memory.
Learning is most effective when it occurs in connection with ordinary experiences. To be
more effective, educational programs should adopt a variety of techniques that offer
experiential learning opportunities, such as classroom demonstrations, field trips,
individual and team projects, visual imagery, stories, metaphor, drama, and content
integration. Technology and the use of many resources to explore content are natural
means to facilitate this process.
[How or why are they natural? - EE]
11. Learning is Enhanced by Challenge and Inhibited by Threat.
In a threatening environment, the learner experiences feelings of helplessness and reverts
to more primitive and routine behaviors. In a challenging environment, the learner
is engaged in activity and experiences feelings of optimal energy. A variety of
information resources and instructional technologies encourage ready adjustment to the
learner's pace, level of engagement, and depth of concept coverage, and should be used for
effective individualization.
[But what does that mean? - EE]
12. Each Brain is Unique.
Even though we all have the same systems, they are integrated differently for each
individual. Moreover, because learning changes the structure of the brain, the more
we learn, the more unique we become. Learners should become familiar with as many
information resources as possible, should use them frequently, and should see them
integrated throughout the curriculum.[Seems again to
contradict early statement that students are already being exposed to many information
types - II]
[But what does that mean? - EE]
Rather than sitting back (like passive television viewers) marveling at the
every-increasing quantity of information and rapidity of change, the imperative for
educators is to lead students through a careful, cumulative acquisition of information
literacy skills. With library/media and technology specialists standing firmly out
front as curriculum consultants, teams of school professionals can plan together
integrated activities focusing on important content while encouraging practice with
information access, acquisition, evaluation, organization, and presentation. Learners
should engage from their earliest years in rich, complex, authentic experiences that
provide a tension between creativity and utility, frequent opportunities for feedback, and
an environment of trust and open communication. This "orchestrated immersion"
(Palmisano, Barron, Torp, 1993) can help ensure that students will leave their school
years better prepared to particpate actively and flexibly in their communities and the
workplace.
References
Caine, R.N. & G. Caine. (1991). Making Connections: Teaching and the Human
Brain. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Caine, R.N. & G. Caine. (1997). Unleashing the Power of Perceptual Change: The Power
of Brain-based Teaching. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development
Hancock, V. (1993). "Information Literacy for Lifelong Learning." ERIC
Digest EDO-IR-93-1, ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources.
Palmisano, M., M. Barron, L. Torp. (1993). Integrative Learning System: Rationale,
Overview, and Reflections. Aurora, IL: Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy.
U.S. Office of Education. (1996, June). Getting America's students ready for the 21st
century: Meeting the technology literacy challenge. Washington, DC: Author.
Critical Reviews
EE
I feel generally that, while I appreciate the intent of the author (and agree with most of the principles), they are simply too vague to make a compelling or useful frame of reference. As well, the examples of the roles through which technology can support these principles are not particularly convincing. I’d like to see a more analytical/critical approach with a focus on specific ways in which instructional or information technology can support the general principles touted below.I don’t want to be an undue critic (I know what that feels like J ), but I can’t support the publication of this in its current form. It’s something of a whitewash of a whole bunch of tremendously important issues, each of which could occupy a dissertation.
II
The author is making very important links between student learning styles/behaviors and effective instructional approaches to learner similarities and differences, but many of the assumptions that the author makes about what teachers should DO to address these learning styles seem vague or even problematic. Because the 12-point framework is not really defended in the introduction of the manuscript, the leaps from learning styles to teaching strategies seems even more dramatic.Though the author appears to be advocating "orchestrated immersion" this argument does not appear until the last sentence of the manuscript.
I would recommend against publishing this article until the author has clearly defined his or her terms, defined the framework presented, and specifically elaborated/explored instructional solutions to these challenges.