Would you like to make this site your homepage? It's fast and easy...
Yes, Please make this my home page!
Different Ways of Knowing
Start with the natural wonder of children, support them with your knowledge
of how children learn, and reveal to them your own passion for learning.
-Linda Johannesen, Senior Author
Different Ways of Knowing (often called DWoK) is an inquiry-based,
arts-infused, interdisciplinary professional development initiative. It's
also a curriculum. For most participating educators, DWoK is a central part
of their school's and district's plans for continuous school improvement.
The academic and social success of every child forms the motivation for
their work in the classroom and with one another.
Different Ways of Knowing, then, is a philosophy of education, a model
curriculum, and a design for the development, practice, and sharing of
knowledge about effective classroom teaching strategies. The vision we have
for all students is stated best by Eliot W. Eisner (1997) in his description
of two especially important aims of education:
We would like our children to be well-informed-that is, to understand ideas
that are important, useful, beautiful, and powerful. And we also want them
to have the appetite and ability to think analytically and critically, to be
able to speculate and imagine, to see connections among ideas, and to be
able to use what they know to enhance their own lives and to contribute to
their culture.
As teachers and students experience Different Ways of Knowing, they create
a content-rich classroom that challenges and nurtures everyone as creative
learners. In addition, they further their school's and district's reform
goals. The changes they make influence the learning life of their school.
They create a classroom learning community and become a catalyst for
changing how their school views the use of time and resources. Teachers,
students, administrators, parents, and community members become involved as
colleagues helping to transform their school into an exciting place of
learning for all children and the adults who work there.
Recognizing that every child has talent and that children learn by doing,
the Different Ways of Knowing curriculum provides clear and flexible
guidelines for learner-centered classroom practice. Interdisciplinary,
nongraded modules integrate deep knowledge in social studies and history
themes with mathematics, science, and the visual, performing, literary, and
media arts.
Different Ways of Knowing
celebrates and builds on the strengths of students as creative, capable
learners.
provides a framework for hands-on, student-centered learning that guides
classroom teaching as well as continuous professional development.
uses compelling themes to develop the multiple intelligences of children,
making the academic curriculum more meaningful and accessible to all
students.
provides students with a wide variety of theme-based learning resources,
combed from publishers across the country, including the best in children's
literature, reference materials, study prints, transparencies, audio- and
videotapes, and software.
helps adapt instruction to include a variety of symbol systems-forms of
representation that involve not only language and numbers but also the
visual, performing, and media arts as powerful tools for learning.
provides skill-building lessons in the context of inquiry-based learning.
builds a classroom community, encourages shared responsibility for classroom
management and learning, and promotes an understanding of democratic ideals.
offers guidelines and resources to assess students' learning.
recognizes that the most important kind of evaluation is self-evaluation and
invites active, collaborative reflection by both teachers and students.
provides a common language for teachers and their colleagues for creating a
meaningful educational partnership among parents, school, district, and
community.
What are the theoretical understandings underlying Different Ways of
Knowing?
Different Ways of Knowing draws upon an extensive research base that
includes a variety of disciplines and perspectives: cognition and
representation (Eisner 1985; Bereiter 1990; Perkins, Jay, and Tishman 1993;
Snow 1991); theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner 1983); prior knowledge
(Langer 1984; Palinscar and Brown 1984); curriculum and instruction (Shulman
1986; Levin, 1993); motivation (Weiner 1985; Stipek 1981); constructivism
(Vygotsky 1978; Wittrock 1974); literacy development (Halliday 1984); second
language acquisition (Krashen 1982; Cummins 1989); thematic, integrated
instruction (Resnick and Klopfer 1989); story schema (Stein and Glenn 1979);
and continuous assessment (Johnston 1990).
Academic and social success for all children
Different Ways of Knowing helps teachers and students expand their literacy
spectrum to include all human intelligences and aptitudes. In addition to
becoming skilled in the use of language, children become literate in the
symbol systems of the arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. They
also become skilled in interacting with others, and gain confidence in
themselves as problem solvers and learners. In his seminal work, Frames of
Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1983), Howard Gardner suggests
that an effective curriculum taps into and develops the multiple
intelligences of children-their artistic and social strategies for learning
as well as their verbal and mathematics strategies, intuitive as well as
logical. In Frames of Mind, Gardner identifies seven intelligences:
Linguistic. Learners are sensitive to sounds and rhythms. They are adept at
speaking, reading, writing, and listening, and they easily comprehend
language.
Musical. Learners are sensitive to rhythm, pitch, and timbre. They
appreciate, interpret, and compose sounds.
Logical-mathematical. Learners easily discern patterns and relationships,
they create reasoning chains, and analyze and manipulate numerical and
symbolic information.
Spatial. Learners are sensitive to images and forms. They can accurately
visualize spatial orientation and transform perceptions.
Bodily-kinesthetic. Learners are aware of mind-body coordination. They
possess excellent large- and small-body motor coordination, and are able to
use their bodies to create and problem solve.
Interpersonal. Learners are sensitive to moods, temperament, and
relationships. They are effective collaborators.
Intrapersonal. Learners possess self-knowledge and insight. They are able to
reflect on their personal growth.
Gardner reminds us that "we are not all the same," nor do we all have
"the
same kinds of minds." Therefore, education is most effective when it
acknowledges our human differences and talents and offers children many ways
to learn and understand-and many ways to show others and themselves what
they have learned and understood.
Different Ways of Knowing is fully integrated around real
problems-compelling themes and topics-linked to curriculum standards in
history, social studies, science, mathematics, and the literary, visual ,
performing, and media arts. The DWoK modules offer a means for pursuing big
ideas, ideas that students value. The modules are built on connections-one
learning event grows out of questions raised in preceding learning events,
all connected to a problem or theme and guiding questions. In Different Ways
of Knowing, new knowledge and skills are used by students to solve problems,
explore, and to gain and show understanding. So music, the visual and media
arts, dance, drama, literature, writing, science, and mathematics all become
powerful learning tools as well as subjects of learning. Students build the
repertoire of knowledge and skills they need to become lifelong learners.
Different Ways of Knowing capitalizes on every child's natural ability to
communicate through drawing, painting, dance, gesture, pantomime, verse and
song. With the support of curriculum modules, professional development
workshops, classroom coaching, and mini-lessons, teachers are encouraged to
nurture every child's creative and artistic development so that they
experience high levels of self-confidence and a sense of personal
accomplishment.
Through and With the Arts
DWoK embraces learning through and with the arts, showing the multiple
contexts in which they are integral to our understanding of natural
phenomena and our complex world. Evolving out of authentic curiosity,
personal experience, and a desire to know, children often delve deeply into
learning about the arts. Children explore what they know about concepts such
as caring and care-giving by examining contemporary photographs and art
images depicted by artists from different periods of time, cultures, and
places. They discuss similarities and differences in the interpretations,
talk about aesthetic qualities, research common themes found in diverse
celebrations and rituals, and explore them through surveys, interviews,
artifacts, art objects, songs, and dances. They communicate their ideas to
others showing the interdisciplinary nature of the arts as well as their
understanding of individual arts in their creative expressions and
performances, and evaluate their own work and that of other artists.
DWoK learning events are designed to encourage children to use their minds
well, to think creatively, and to solve problems in different ways.
Successful participation for all children means including the arts so that
intuition is balanced with cognition. As teachers use the modules, they come
to understand and value the arts processes and the arts product or
performance for the purposeful learning experiences they provide. For
example, to show the adverse effects of pollution on the environment,
children research the topic in collaborative groups studying a variety of
written materials, photographs, art prints, videotapes and other resources.
They produce an original performance piece by creating visual images,
costumes, selecting music, and designing the choreography undirected by
their teachers who realize that the arts provide the active process in which
students co-construct meaning and direct their own learning. You'll see many
such examples in the student gallery of DWoKnet.
The arts are worthy "different ways of knowing" languages that enable
all
children to access, process, and express what they know in their daily
classroom life. DWoK teachers come to understand the intrinsic value of the
arts and their power as instructional strategies when they see the
inevitable connections that learners make to math, science, geography,
history, social studies, and writing. Children and teachers learn together
that the arts humanize learning and that the process of becoming literate in
the arts evolves purposefully and carefully over time. The arts continually
expand the ways in which we perceive, think about, and interpret what we
know. The arts are everywhere.
In sum, Different Ways of Knowing embraces the following understandings
The most significant learning arises from that which arouses the interest
and meets the needs of the learner. Different Ways of Knowing enables
teachers and their students to make choices about the instructional pathway
they'll follow.
Learners construct meaning for themselves. Different Ways of Knowing
teachers understand that the most significant and enduring learning is
constructed by the learner, with guidance and assistance provided by many
people. Students learn best when they are actively engaged in planning,
monitoring, and directing their own learning.
The arts are critical to the process of making meaning. When children
express themselves through the arts, they are involved deeply in thinking
processes and discovery. They also become skilled in the various arts
disciplines.
Learners thrive in a safe, supportive environment. Different Ways of Knowing
begins with children's strengths, celebrating all that they can do,
encouraging them to take risks as learners, and developing trusting
relationships with other children and with adults.
Learners use both content knowledge and skills as tools to learn more.
Different Ways of Knowing develops the intellectual tools that will serve
students for a lifetime through the use of rich, cross-disciplinary research
which focuses on big ideas.
Learners use the world as their laboratory. Different Ways of Knowing helps
students understand and appreciate their community. Students explore
resources outside the classroom and invite experts in to share information.
Learners explore their learning over multiple drafts. Different Ways of
Knowing encourages children to explore, refine, and elaborate their meaning
over multiple drafts and to express their evolving understandings through a
variety of presentational formats which include the visual arts, dance,
drama, music, science, and mathematics, as well as oral and written
language.
Learners learn in collaboration with others. Learners learn best when they
are not isolated from others, but are part of a community of learners that
invites dialogue, exchange, and collaboration.
Learners never stop learning. One line of inquiry leads to another; this is
one of the major underpinnings of Different Ways of Knowing. The measure of
true learning is not recall of material, but new questions that address new
possibilities, leading the learner into new realms of exploration. So
Different Ways of Knowing modules end not only with the question, "What did
you learn?" but also "What will you learn next?"
What About Learning Strategies and Skills?
Children learn strategies for learning and skills that help them gain new
knowledge and prepare them for learning more. These include confident use of
Informational sources
tables of contents
glossaries
charts, diagrams, tables, graphs
data
indexes
alphabetical listings
maps
captions, headings
Reading and writing strategies
note-taking, highlighting
outlining
composing
editing
skimming
reviewing
revising
publishing
webbing, brainstorming, listing
reading and writing for a variety of purposes
proofreading
checking facts
interpreting
Speaking and listening skills and strategies
planning
questioning
critiquing
projecting, diction
gaining a sense of audience
debating
interviewing
discussing
Visual, performing, and media arts skills and strategies
looking and responding
communicating with voice, artwork, and performances-body, actions, images
questioning
manipulating materials
evaluating
exploring, experimenting
observing
creating
projecting
designing
critiquing
Problem solving and thinking skills and strategies
reflecting
analyzing one's own thinking strategies
evaluating
metacognition-understanding
Quantifying strategies
patterning
generalizing
establishing relationships
manipulating
trial and error
analyzing
intuition
Social skills and strategies
collaborating
taking turns
sharing and accepting responsibility
compromising
helping and seeking help
forming friendships
making group decisions
References
Applebee, A. The Child's Concept of Story: Ages Two to Seventeen. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1978.
Bereiter, Carl. "Aspects of an Educational Learning Theory." Review of
Educational Research, 60, 1990.
Calkins, Lucy. Lessons from a Child. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1986.
Cummins, Jim. Empowering Minority Students. Sacramento: California
Association of Bilingual Educators, 1989.
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. New York: Harper and Row, 1989.
Donaldson, Margaret. Children's Minds. New York: W. W. Norton, 1978.
Eisner, Eliot W. "Cognition and Representation." Phi Delta Kappan,
V78, N5,
1997.
Eisner, Eliot W. The Educational Imagination: On the Design and Evaluation
of School Programs. New York: Macmillan, 1985.
Gardner, Howard. Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New
York: Basic Books, 1983.
Goodman, Kenneth S., E. Brooks Smith, Robert Meredith, and Yetta M. Goodman.
Language and Thinking in Schools. New York: Richard C. Owen, 1987.
Goodman, Yetta M. "Kidwatching: An Alternative to Testing." Journal of
National Elementary Principals, 1978.
Halliday, Michael. "Three Aspects of Children's Language Development."
Oral
and Written Language Development Research: Impact on the Schools, edited by
Y. Goodman, M. Haussler, and D. Strickland. Urbana, IL: National Council of
Teachers of English, 1984.
Johnston, Peter. Constructive Evaluation of Literate Activity. New York:
Longman, 1990.
Krashen, Stephen. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982.
Langer, Judith A. "Levels of Questioning: An Alternative View."
Reading
Research Quarterly, 20, 1985
Levin, H. M. "Accelerated Schools for Disadvantaged Students." Every
Child
Can Succeed: Readings for School Improvement, edited by A. Backler and S.
Eakin. Bloomington, IN: Agency for Instructional Technology, 1993.
Palinscar, A. S. and A. L. Brown. "Reciprocal Teaching of
Comprehension-Fostering and Comprehension-Monitoring Activities." Cognition
and Instruction, 1, 1984.
Perkins, David N., E. Jay, and Shari Tishman. "New Conceptions of Thinking:
From Ontology to Education." Educational Psychologist, 28, 1993.
Resnick, Lauren B. and L. E. Klopfer, Toward the Thinking Curriculum:
Current Cognitive Research. Washington, DC: ASCD, 1989.
Shulman, Lee S. "Those Who Understand Teach: Knowledge Growth in
Teaching."
Educational Researcher, 15, 1986.
Smith, Frank. "Twelve Easy Ways To Make Reading Difficult." Essays
into
Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1983.
Snow, Richard E. "The Concept of Aptitude." Improving Inquiry in
Social
Science, edited by R. E. Snow and D. E. Wiley. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 1991.
Stein, N. L. and C. G. Glenn. "An Analysis of Story Comprehension in
Elementary Children." New Directions in Discourse Processing, edited by R.
Freedle. Norwood, NJ: 1979.
Stipek, D. "Children's Perceptions of Their Own and Their Classmates'
Ability." Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 1981.
Vygotsky, Lev. Mind in Society. Edited by M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S.
Scribner, and E. Souberman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978.
Weiner, Bernard. "An Attributional Theory of Achievement Motivation and
Emotion." Psychological Review, 92, 1985.
Wells, G. The Meaning Makers: Children Learning Language and Using Language
To Learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1986.
Wittrock, M. "Learning as a Generative Process." Educational
Psychologist,
1974.
Copyright © 1998, 1999 The Galef Institute. All rights reserved.
HOME
