....I'd like to suggest David Willingham's "Why Don't Students Like School." Though I have not yet personally read this book, I saw a keynote address by Willingham a few months ago. One of his main points ties directly into our discussion of possibly removing course content in favor of allowing students opportunities to engage with the material through critical thinking exercies.
Simply put, Willingham argues that without the content, you can't begin to think crtically. And, what seperates the "smart kids" from the "dumb kids" is ability to recall facts. We must teach facts, because recalling facts builds the base upon which criical thinking happens.
If the book is anything like the presentation, his argument is pretty convinving. It does, I think, apply more to the notion that we can simplg Google search any of the small details rather than actually memorize and learn them, but I think it can easily be applied to decisions of how much content needs to be cut from our courses.
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