After reading the article I did not feel as if I had a good understanding of what CFT was. I did see goals and justifications of it; however, I was a little confused as to how a teacher could use CFT as the bridge between disciplines and teaching tools that CFT stated it could be. As the article stated I Google searched "Spiro cognitive flexibility " where I was able to read other articles that assisted me in my understanding such as Boger-Mehall's article.
To further enhance my understanding I reflected on the Ease History website. I was able to get a better understanding of CFT by using the site and I came to a moment- where the light went on. As I was reading the article I kept saying "this CFT sounds great, but give me a concrete example (or case as the article referred to). Then I remembered that the Ease History website matches the description of hypermedia demonstrating the use of CFT. I pictured myself using the site to create problems that my students would have to solve that dealt not just with history, but with using 21st century skills, and formulating habits of mind. Cognitive flexibility states that how students are taught has a direct influence on how they use that knowledge. If we teach rigidly and in a vacuum then that knowledge will only be used in a vacuum- such as a test. Hypermedia and technology is by its nature flexible; therefore it is the vehicle that can best suit the fundamental aspects of CFT in the classroom.
Comments/Questions:
- This article pairs nicely with the Wineberg article that asks- "Why teach history?". I wonder how many of my students ask that question. With CFT students don't learn in that vacuum, but they connect what they learn to a larger picture.
- What type of training exists for educators interested in CFT principles?
- Would an entire educational curriculum need to be developed around CFT for it to work. In other words would an entire district need to "buy in" to the principles of CFT? It would seem to me that if one teacher was the only one implementing CFT than they would be fighting a loosing battle.
1 comment:
EASE History is one of the first attempts to use CFT principles to support learning in grades 6-12 classroom learning. Previous CFH systems have been designed for medical schools and film studies. If anyone is interested, I can post papers written by my advisor, Rand Spiro, who created the theory. The development of resources is essential if it is going to be used by teachers. EASE History currently has a learning guide but more work needs to go into it. There aren't any CFT workshops, yet.
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