Today each group presented one of the curriculum ideologies:

1. Religious Orthodoxy
2. Rational Humanism
3. Progressivism
4. Critical Theory
5. Cognitive Pluralism
6. Care (Noddings)

Our group was assinged to Cognitive Pluralism.

Our game plan:

Prompt: Distill and Convey the ideology in a convincing way

Topic: Cognitive Pluralism

Details:

• 7 minute presentation (5min + 2min Q&A)
• Include Why, What and How
• Tip from Molly → Preview Gardener
• Important to include representation (think this means how student can symbolize)
• Email Molly with presentation

Our Script

Open Role Play – modeling

• Celine (teacher) introduces the Water unit and prompts each student to come up with a project they’d like to do
• Each student gives short description of what they want to do and what drives their interest
  • Lucas
    • Erosion – how different water flow rates affect the course of a river
  • Mohamad
    • Energy – how water can be used to produce energy. I want to build a model dam that has the water flow produce electricity that can light a small light bulb, and thus explore water in that way. Might also be interested to build a small tidal energy system and see how water can be used to produce energy that way as well, and which system is better (Spacial & Bodily and a little bit Mathematical-Logical).
  • Lisa
    • Understand native american tribes and the symbols around water
    • I’d like to re-produce a water dance

Presentation

• Celine introduces WHAT Cognitive Pluralism is
• Mohammad explains Gardner’s idea of multiple intelligences
• Lisa explains WHY we should teach Cognitive Pluralism
• Lucas describes HOW teachers might incorporate the ideology in practice

Q&A

Material from Readings

• Pluralism of meanings
  • Multiple ways of teaching and learning the same concept
    • Analogies (Dan Schwartz)
    • Metaphors
  • Intelligence as a verb versus a noun
    • Not something you have, something you do
    • Fixed versus Growth mindset
    • Brain as a muscle
  • Literacy
    • Expanded definition – not only reading words, but symbols
    • “…encoding or decoding of information in any of the forms that humans use to convey meaning” (Eisner, 1994, p.81)
• Equity
  • Differentiation
    • Requires teacher to look at ‘internal conditions’ of student
  • “By creating a wider array of curricular tasks … opportunities for success in school are expanded.”  (Eisner, 1994, p.82)
  • Tasks must bare equal merit – arts vs science
• Null Curriculum
  • Curriculum is as mind-altering device
  • What goes in is as important as what is left out
  • Missed opportunity to increase learner’s repertoire
• Limited success
  • Teachers must have multiple forms of literacy – but most of us will latch onto one way of understanding and thus have a harder time explaining in multiple ways.

Our presentation slides