|
Study Guide & Strategies
Learning from multiple sources
Course information can be
delivered through a variety of formats:
Lecture
by teacher or guests |
|
Textbook |
Original source material
as diaries, government documents,
proceedings, minutes |
Duplicates/hand-out
of (text) chapters, magazine articles |
Interview and biography
eyewitness accounts or commentaries |
|
Fictional story/novel |
Electronic media
such as videos, radio programs |
Internet
web site pages, discussion groups |
Stahl, et al (1998) found that using
multiple texts sources can only be effective if we are taught to use
them properly. As beginners, we tend to be more consistent in what
information we select from short, well-constructed texts. Longer,
less structured documents tend to be more confusing.
Text books
- provide a foundation of facts and
viewpoints to provide an overview
- sequence information and facts to
understand issues
- create a context for comparing and
understanding other sources
- are written in a neutral,
objective tone
Problems with a single text
for a subject or course include:
- information is often "academic"
lacking the drama of real life experience, adventure, and
experimentation
- bias is hidden or concealed
ignoring competing facts, priorities, minority viewpoints
- a single interpretation limits how
reported facts are prioritized/sequenced
restricting viewpoint (Euro/Caucasian) or subject testing (white
male)
- original/eyewitness sources of
information are secondary to interpretative accounts
Additional readings
and alternative sources of information can assist you to
- create a richer
understanding
with additional information and perspective
- interact or engage with
facts, actors, circumstances
of the material
- practice and familiarize
yourself with new subject vocabulary and concepts
- process opposing, even
conflicting,
points of view in order to assess, evaluate, defend
.Conflicting information however can
impede your learning, unless you can
- analyze it for
commonalties
- reorganize or synthesize
your model for understanding it
- consider the impact of,
and evaluate, conflicts
- filter it with athe
context presented in the basic text
Some Recommendations:
- Read your text
to provide the factual framework from which to begin
- Proceed to shorter, more
focused sources
of information expecially if you are inexpereinced in the subject
- Practice with multiple
texts to improve your evaluative skills:
- compare and contrast your
sources
- analyze them for bias or
viewpoint
- note when and where they were
written, and how that affects the viewpoint
- Understand the connections
between events, actors, and circumstances rather than learn a
series of "facts" which can be easily be forgotten
- Use in-class or on-line
discussion time
to test your understanding and ask questions!
Back to Study Guide & Strategies
Back
to Home
|
