Reflection of February 14, 2011 Class

I really liked the engaging nature of last week's class.  Analyzing the McGonigal survey was a great activity to do in a group choosing to be either Dr. McGonigal or the librarian who hosted the event.  My group chose to be Dr. McGonigal (because we liked her hair and boots and wanted to be cool like her) and had fun thinking about the factors that enter into being a presenter at a conference.  It was most interesting to see what people actually took away from the lecture and how that tied into their prior knowledge...

Onto prior knowledge, I actually DID really like the anchor analogy and was surprised that people did not really "get it" or that people did  not necessarily see transfer as part of a librarian's job.  I, for one, spent a few days each summer on lakes and know that those rafts need to be anchored down.  So, the idea of prior knowledge and a transfer to future knowledge being tied to the present place in which a patron or student sits makes sense.  The prior knowledge needs to be there, but without any sort of commonality (the raft), no connection can be made with what they're learning. 

I also thought the discussion of AP was interesting.  I took AP English and AP Calc in high school and don't remember a darned thing from AP Calc (still got an A and took the test so I wouldn't have to take the class exam) but I remember a heck of a lot from AP English which I passed.  The format DOES need to be changed but I don't quite remember my experience with those being quite as intense as others in the class (maybe I'm a little older or just had good teachers...)

The subject of hook questions was great, though.  Gave great examples of how to draw people in in real ways - not just boring questions people will never use.  And the activity that we discussed about Egypt and the French Revolution showed just that and was a great lead into to transfer.  When I saw that activity for high schoolers, I was thrilled because it's exactly what I think students need to learn and understand - REAL WORLD things that they can apply throughout their lives in different ways.  Transfer is an interesting concept that I've not often heard discussed about education, but class last week emphasized its importance and different ways in which to engage with it.  Much appreciated!