Unlearning In Cathy Davidson's 'Project Classroom Makeover'

In Cathy Davidson’s “Project Classroom Makeover,” Cathy discusses about how unlearning can lead for the positive change of education. Three example she uses to show unlearning are Duke’s introduction of the Ipods, the girl who had special abilities and talents, and lastly Inez Davidson’s unique classroom teaching styles. All these stories showcase that unlearning plays a huge role in education. Unlearning completely changes the way of how education functions and allows student to be more engaged into learning and create challenges that they have to think through. Duke and the iPod completely changed how an iPod could serve as a purpose to learn. But to do this first, was to unlearn. Duke was approached by Apple to become on of their “Apple Digital Campuses.” By becoming one of this, Duke was able to “choose “a technology that Apple …show more content…
Duke wanted to learn instead of teach. Usually, hierarchy is based on credentials meaning the one with most expertise is on top while those with the least are on the bottom - or at least that is how education functioned. Most students who go to an elite private university has gotten the best education or “a lifetime of determined and focused study...always taking the most difficult courses, earning perfect scores on test, and doing lots of extracurricular work” (51). Duke then adds “We wonder what these astonishing young overachievers would do if given the chance not to follow the rules but to make them.” By inverting the roles of students and teachers, students are able to creating something new with what they’ve learned. The learner teaches the teacher new ideas and creations from what they have been around. These new ideas allows for teachers to teach their students in a better way that is catered to their generation. As seen with Duke, they provided iPods to students that has witnessed both the technological and pre-technological