Review of Scheurman's and Newman's Educational Construct

I was first introduced to Scheurman and Newman during undergraduate work at the Minnesota State University, Mankato in a Social Studies methods class. Scheurman and Newman wrote an article for Social Education (1998 pp. 23-25) entitled Authentic Intellectual Work in Social Studies: Putting Performance before Pedagogy. The article helped to inspire me as a professional educator and is the basis fort this summary document.

G. Scheurman is an associate professor of teacher education, at the University of Wisconsin -River Falls. Joining the faculty at UW-River Falls in 1993, Scheurman taught middle school and high school in Douglas, Wyoming. He holds a doctorate in educational psychology with emphases in lifespan intellectual development, constructivist learning theory, and intrinsic motivation from the University of Iowa. His bachelor's and master's degrees are from the University of Wyoming.

F. M. Newman is a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was director of the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools.

Newman and Scheurman weigh in on the debate between what they call transmission teachers: those who expect students in their classrooms to memorize a preordained set of information and master a specific set of skills, and constructivist educators: teachers who design discovery projects and active learning lessons. Newman and Scheurman believe that neither style of teaching will achieve the goals of social education alone. They argue that what is needed is a set of criteria that ensures that teachers are designing curriculum that enable students to participate in authentic intellectual achievement, that is, applying knowledge (facts, insights, theories, and concepts) to specific areas of society. They use an example of a US Attorney to describe their position. An attorney must have background knowledge on laws, previous cases/rulings, social/political insights, and skills such as reason and personality. They cannot simply have the knowledge; they must also present that knowledge in such a way to their audience to ensure the best representation for their client.

Newman and Scheurman state that significant intellectual activities need to have three benchmarks to ensure their effectiveness in the classroom. All activities should be judged according to the ability to have students construct knowledge, engage in disciplined inquiry, and have students see the value of the activity beyond school. Newman and Scheurman feel that too many schools have tried to focus on pedagogical techniques and the process of creating knowledge with the hopes of increasing student performance. They believe that that approach is backward. Social studies teachers should focus on the quality of student intellectual work then allow the nature of that performance to guide how they teach.

This belief can add value to the classroom in that it gives educators a way to design meaningful authentic activities that ensure the students aren’t just doing an activity in a vacuum, but rather are completing activities that are ensuring the use of learned ,needed, knowledge. The worry of some that projects are fun and not effective will eventually fade as this criterion is implemented into the course work.

Technology can facilitate this belief of education by allowing the core beliefs to be put into practice. Technology can enhance all three areas of criteria needed to design Authentic Intellectual Achievement. Technology allows students to access a wealth of knowledge needed to meet the “Construction of Knowledge” aspect. Online reference resources are invaluable tools in this respect. If students are taught proper procedures for using technology they will be able to fully engage in “Disciplined Inquiry.” Finally technology can generate many teachable moments to ensure that the students can see “Value Beyond School”

The combination of Scheurman’s and Newman’s views with effective implementation of instructional technology can ensure that students either in a chalk-and-talk or constructivist classroom are achieving authentic intellectual studies within their discipline.