Classroom technology was supposed to revolutionize learning. Instead, studies show it may be holding students back: more than half of students are said to be distracted by devices in class. Today, Lisa Fletcher visits a school that’s going back to basics.
The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.
At Frederick Classical Charter School in Maryland, nearly 400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade follow a deliberately traditional approach to learning.
Collin Kenny helps lead that approach as the school’s assistant principal.
Collin Kenny: We’re a public school, but we are a school that parents opt into so that they can have something that stresses history and public speaking and things like that.
It’s called “classical education” – a growing instruction model with about 700-thousand students in 15-hundred schools nationwide.
Lisa Fletcher: Traditional school teachers might say, “Well, we do that at our school. It doesn’t sound that different.” What really sets you guys apart?
Collin Kenny: We were designed to communicate face to face, to write our ideas down. So it makes sense that our brains are wired to learn this way.
In classrooms here, that philosophy shows up in a simple way – more pens and pencils, and fewer screens.
Research suggests that matters. Studies show students who write by hand tend to produce higher-quality work and retain more information than those who type.
Source: Sharyl Attkisson
