EDIM 508 Unit 3 Summary Posting Information Overload:

The Need for the Synthesizing Mind

Ive enjoyed reading your discussions this week. I hope that the readings have better opened your mind to
understanding the synthesizing mind and the technological tools and strategies that can be used to foster this
mind. Id like to highlight some thoughts from this weeks discussion.

Ann- To me teaching for understanding is what needs to be focused on. In order for students to fully
understand topics, I feel that there is more of a need for inquiry based learning/assessments and project based
learning/assessments in the classroom. I feel that students retain the information when they are doing the
work. However, my personal thoughts are that there is so much pressure on a teacher due to standardize
testing that this has been a way of the past and teachers tend to teach to the test.

Daniel- The more interactions students have the more experiences they can
pull from. By having more experiences, the easy it will be to relate to topics. I know
that is one of my goals as a teacher, to try and have the students think about topics from
multiple viewpoints.

Deborah- Its like this magical, mysterious process and as Gardner shares
in the video youve shared, when looking for information about "how people synthesize, there's nothing on it."
As an educator, I strive to break down complex processes and concepts, so that achieving and understanding
them is not only achievable by magicians but also, by everyone. However, with synthesis, this is extremely
difficult!

Jessica You explained that we can "lay the foundation and prepare students to
have synthesizing minds." This realization was important for me, as I tend to get ahead of
myself and want to see the end result immediately. Our job is to give our students
opportunities to seek discipline and synthesis, but it could take them years to get to that
point.

John- One of the things that I think we as students in this class, and many
others, do too often is only think through the scope of our students rather than building
from our own perspectives. In order for us to properly present information that can be
synthesized by our students, we ultimately have to follow the exact same steps Gardner
presents in his Components.

Jonathan- Do we really push students to reach for that interdisciplinary knowledge or are we
asking too many factual questions that require a specific answer? I believe that inquiry based learning is an
increasingly important model for schools to look at if we have any hope of trying to promote real problem
solving and critical thinking skills in students today. I think we need more of this type of learning in order to
truly take advantage of the synthesizing mind.

Kathryn- One of the conditions that supports synthesis is working

with people from different backgrounds. By exposing students to different points
of view at an early age and throughout their academic career you are not only
broadening their horizons, but also providing invaluable practice in
communicating and getting along with people from all walks of life and all levels
of experience. While it may not be possible to bring in experts and contributors to
the classroom in the flesh, there are plenty of multimedia resources available
online that could provide insight from many sources.

Kevin- I believe as teachers we must be aware of the content delivered to our students. With the
vast online resources that are available, teachers must preview content in order to prevent bias that the students
may interpret. I think it is important to locate resources that are of an academic nature and encourage use
within the classroom. This way they are designed for education, and will most benefit the students in their
learning goals.

Maria- As a teacher, it is our job to clearly have a goal to which we want out students to reach. We
must have a starting point in which we draw from previous information (courses) which will assist our students.
We must select our strategy for which we believe will help our students fully grasp the concepts. Finally, we
must always look back on our lessons and delivery and make necessary changes (Gardner, 2008, p. 51-52).
Unless we have a clear understanding of where we are starting, where we are headed and how to best get there,
we will not be effective as teachers.

Matthew S- I agree that providing our children opportunities to learn from hands on experiences
are very beneficial. Standardized testing does not provide children the chance to display their knowledge as
project based assignments do. My students tend to enjoy project based assignments over any form of
standardized testing. Yet, the majority of assessments in my classroom are not project based. The primary
reason for this is the need to follow our districts curriculum and scope and sequence.

Matt U- I have always found my students to be much more engaged

with their learning when they are the ones activating that learning. Unfortunately,
like you, I feel that the importance of standardized testing has reached
unnecessary heights. So many teachers today, including myself at times, are
teaching with the hopes that their students will simply be able to retain and recall
that information on test day. There needs to be a serious culture shift in
education.

Michelle- It's so unfortunate that today "we" as a society, are so data driven and so focused on
standardized test results that we forget to enrich children with the love of learning, the skills to communicate
and elaborate with confidence, the knowledge of more than just what is in our textbooks, how to problem solve
even the simplest situations...sometimes I feel like we are robots teaching robots.

Stephanie- Students learn to think critically and ask questions about the world around them when
they are given the opportunity to extend their learning. I truly believe that as long as a student can think
critically and validate their reasoning, they can answer questions on a standardized test. They will look at the
questions with a careful eye, to examine it, and think what possible outcomes. They will use those test taking
strategies to eliminate those answers that don't make sense, and choose the answer that best answers the
question.