Project Classroom Makeover, By Cathy Davidson - 1310 Words

Change takes on the course of a gradual shift away from the traditional and into the modern. Such a process can take on the identity of many forms but in the end, they all contribute to the advancement of society. Throughout â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover,† Cathy Davidson explores the need for such change in America’s educational system as it lags years behind the modern standards. Technology serves as an impetus to change and reform this antiquated system through facilitating new means of learning not previously available. While technology does have its benefits in the classrooms, it cannot alone replace the interactions between students and teachers because there are limits to the extent computerization can recreate human connections.†¦show more content†¦Teaching in the modern age has not adopted any of these techniques which leads to ill-suited high school graduates without the proper preparation for the in-demand jobs. For the educational system to chang e, it must teach the necessary skills needed for students to succeed in the real world. However, since the modern-day learning system still just stresses skills required for â€Å"middle management and factory jobs,† there is not much new in the modern age of schooling because it just borrows on old techniques and reuses them at a time in which they have become obsolete (60). Thus, although technology seems to rebrand the learning protocols of America, it serves as an element that both facilitates learning and a faà §ade that takes away from the true reform needed to overhaul the anachronistic system. Even though technology does not fully resolve the problem with education, it leads to a change and a greater emphasis on collaborative learning and thinking at new levels, previously unseen in the educational system. Davidson details an experiment she initiated to understand how the new generation learns with technology. Her study focused on â€Å"crowdsourcing [which] means i nviting a group to collaborate on a solution to a problem,† in this case the group being the students from Duke University (53). Davidson’s study lead to an immense amount of collaboration between the students and it could all happen in real time. For example,Show MoreRelatedProject Classroom Makeover, By Cathy Davidson1169 Words   |  5 PagesJennifer White Professor Lee ENC 1102 25 September 2015 Summary Cathy Davidson is an English and humanities professor at Duke University. She has published over twenty books, many dealing with technology and education. In â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover,† she argues that the way the United States teaches students is not preparing them for the skills needed for success in the twenty-first century. To illustrate her point, Professor Davidson presents the historical development of the educational systemRead MoreProject Classroom Makeover By Cathy Davidson Essay1396 Words   |  6 PagesEducation is a very powerful tool in the twenty-first century; the power of knowledge allows an individual to advance his social and economic status. â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover† by Cathy Davidson demonstrates the necessity of a customized education system in modern America while explaining why traditional learning is slowly reversing true American values. Since the late 1800s, the United States of America has developed a reputation of â€Å"r ags to riches† because of the success stories of John D. RockefellerRead MoreProject Classroom Makeover By Cathy Davidson1384 Words   |  6 Pagesto be a change in the way that the education system was set up. In her essay, â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover†, Cathy Davidson discusses how the â€Å"one size fits all† model of learning hinders students from learning in a new and modernized way. She suggests the notion that using technology to teach and learn can be effective in many ways. Davidson shows that using technology presents the opportunity for a traditional classroom to become more inclusive and creative. The â€Å"democratization of knowledge† is theRead MoreProject Classroom Makeover By Cathy Davidson1594 Words   |  7 Pagespresence of technology. Nowadays, technology has become a major part of our lives and created a huge change in this world, and gives an opportunity for children to enhance their creativity and adapt to change quickly. In C athy Davidson’s article, â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover†, Davidson discusses how vital the process of unlearning is to students and present education system. Unlearning discourages students from learning in a fashion that has all the pre-set directions, and gives independence to studentsRead More`` Project Classroom Makeover `` By Cathy Davidson Essay1970 Words   |  8 Pagesplans would inevitably result in failure because their proponents blindly believe in the efficiency of equality. They neglect how people are motivated to improve and to test their limits by their instinct to compete. In her writing â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover†, Cathy Davidson proposes egalitarian plans consist of a â€Å"democratization of knowledge† (54) which depends on crowdsourcing and â€Å"working together collectively† (51). In Davidson’s perspective, problems will be solved by allowing everyone the equalRead MoreAnalysis Of Project Classroom Makeover B y Cathy Davidson2143 Words   |  9 Pagesstill individuals who are also motivated by their own values and dreams. These people are willing to step outside of the realm of ‘standard success’ and strive for what constitutes as success in their opinion. The following texts- â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover† by Cathy Davidson, â€Å"Biographies of Hegemony† by Karen Ho, and â€Å"An Army of One, Me† by Jean Twenge- all demonstrate the conflicts and consequences of social construct and self-desires on our perceptions of success. While social construct influencesRead MoreAnalysis Of Project Classroom Makeover, And An Army Of One : Me, By Cathy Davidson1547 Words   |  7 PagesIn all three texts, â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover,† â€Å"Biographies of Hegemony,† and â€Å"An Army of One: Me,† the authors, Cathy Davidson, Karen Ho, Jean Twenge, respectively, explore different ideas of â€Å"the Self.† They defined and expand ed what it meant to be an individual through curiosity. How was the â€Å"Self† developed? What were the main factors of a more â€Å"self-celebrated† society? Why are aspects of narcissism seen more and more today? These answers were discovered when the idea of â€Å"self-focus† wasRead MoreAnalysis Of Karen Lee s Project Classroom Makeover Essay1236 Words   |  5 Pageson the top of the chain of command dictate the social norms for the remaining individuals on the antithetical end of the spectrum. Individuals with traits outside these norms are ostracized and looked down upon by the hierarchy. Cathy Davidson’s, Project Classroom Makeover, promotes the use of customization in the education system to accommodate every students’ learning habits over the current use of standardization and curriculum based teachings. On the other hand, Karen Ho’s, Biographies of HegemonyRead MoreInquiry Based Opportunities And Narcissism Essay1226 Words   |  5 PagesBased Opportunities and Narcissism The question of how to properly teach children has been constantly debated over ever since the existence of the education system. On the precipice of such debate are two outspoken critics, Cathy Davidson, author of â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover,† and Jean Twenge, author of â€Å"An Army of One: Me,† who have both denounced the traditional school curriculum. Their beliefs, that public school have ruined students by placing too much emphasis on self-esteem as well as contentRead MoreHow Technology Has Profoundly Affected The Way Humans Live, Work, And Play1576 Words   |  7 Pagessystem. The outcomes of innovative technology in the classrooms have triggered many individuals to share their perspective on this subject. Cathy Davidson’s â€Å"Project Classroom Makeover† explores the essentials of incorporating technological innovation in the classrooms. Davidson’s work utilizes how the practice of innovative technology in schools will reform the education system in society. The utilization of innovation in the classroom allows for the usage of more interactive educational tools