Looking back to Kindergarden though six grade we did a lot of repetition and drills that created basic skills and scaffolding knowledge. Remembering and understanding was a large portion of early elementary years. A lot of listening and repeating. Locating certain object, such as a square as in a tissue box. stop sign is red and so forth. Identifying letters and numbers. Applying built knowledge, such as recognizing that our lunch box is a square or that or hands can help us learn our left from right.
Later in the elementary and early middle school, I start to remember Analyzing information placing categories to information. Dissecting basics; worms, frogs in 7th grade.
In later secondary grades, high order of thinking was placed into play. Allowing us to put our knowledge to use and allow us to analyze situations on our own. Having basic debates in class allowing us to have opinions and role playing our knowledge. Compose our own predictions.
In our discussion this afternoon we spoke about how some how our roles as teachers took a twist, teachers were once in charge of teaching math and reading, 123 and ABC. Now we take on the role of moral development, sex ed, job transitions and so on. Trying to get through the state standards and meeting the curriculum at hand, along with these extra added duties, I find that we have time to meet Bloom's Understanding and Applying, just meeting the basic. It is hard to find time in the day to meet Bloom's high level thinking due to time limits and technology limitations. I often think of the Amish community and how they have survived in the same ways of teaching and education for so many centuries. Maybe we are missing something?
