"Language Structure Is Partly Determined by Social Structure" ScienceDaily 1/21/10
"If Your Kids Are Awake, They're Probably Online" The New York Times 1/20/10
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
WORLD OF LEARNING: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
"Emotional Training Helps Kids Fight Depression" NPR 1/18/10
Controlling your emotions with "self-talk," finding that you can be resilient in the face of setbacks: these are concepts that are at the very foundations of all learning, and ones we should be teaching along with reading, writing and arithmetic.
Controlling your emotions with "self-talk," finding that you can be resilient in the face of setbacks: these are concepts that are at the very foundations of all learning, and ones we should be teaching along with reading, writing and arithmetic.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
WORLD OF LEARNING
"In Defense of the Liberal Arts" Newsweek 1/9/10
Jon Meacham argues that the liberal arts, with their emphasis on "canonical literature, philosophy and history...prepare people for a good life, not just the good life." Education is about giving the student the power to clearly express what he is thinking, and to clearly understand what others are thinking.
Jon Meacham argues that the liberal arts, with their emphasis on "canonical literature, philosophy and history...prepare people for a good life, not just the good life." Education is about giving the student the power to clearly express what he is thinking, and to clearly understand what others are thinking.
WORLD OF LEARNING: THE JURY IS OUT
"Your Brain Online: Does the Web change how we think?" Newsweek 1/8/10
Excellent and thoughtful essay by the always perceptive Sharon Begley. Her answer in a nutshell: We don't know yet, and the answer may not be completely negative (or completely positive). "There's something happening here, what it is, ain't exactly clear...."
Excellent and thoughtful essay by the always perceptive Sharon Begley. Her answer in a nutshell: We don't know yet, and the answer may not be completely negative (or completely positive). "There's something happening here, what it is, ain't exactly clear...."
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
WORLD OF LEARNING: LEARNING DOES NOT EQUAL LISTENING TO A (BAD) LECTURE PART 3
WORLD OF LEARNING: LEARNING DOES NOT EQUAL LISTENING TO A LECTURE PART 1
WORLD OF LEARNING: LEARNING DOES NOT EQUAL LISTENING TO A LECTURE PART 2
Further thoughts after some interaction with a good lecturer:
I think Mazur made his disparaging comments about lecturing to get teachers to think about opening up from a top-down model, and also to get them thinking about better ways to assess whether students are understanding concepts rather than regurgitating "facts." Since he was saying that "the lecture notes of the instructor get transferred to the notebooks of the students without passing through the brains of either," while he was giving a (good) lecture during which I'm sure many listeners (like me) were taking notes, I believe he appreciated a certain irony in his stance, and that his tongue was lodged firmly in cheek.
There are so many situations where we happily take in ideas in a receptive mode--movies or the theater come to mind, not to mention "lectures" that we go to for fun--that demonstrate the viability of the medium.
On the other hand, I see too many kids who never really engage with school material because their teachers give (bad) lectures and assess understanding on fill-in-the blank handouts and tests where there are only correct and incorrect answers. I always refer back in my own mind to Miss Dempsey, my eighth grade teacher, who would open the social studies book and read it to us verbatim for that class, with the windows closed and the radiators clanking in a stuffy, smelly room.
That kind of person is still around, although not many could reach the standards for boredom that she set.
Isn't the key to a good lecturer her enthusiasm for the subject matter, ability to tell a story, and awareness of her audience? That translates to audience engagement, rather than mandatory auditing.
WORLD OF LEARNING: LEARNING DOES NOT EQUAL LISTENING TO A LECTURE PART 2
Further thoughts after some interaction with a good lecturer:
I think Mazur made his disparaging comments about lecturing to get teachers to think about opening up from a top-down model, and also to get them thinking about better ways to assess whether students are understanding concepts rather than regurgitating "facts." Since he was saying that "the lecture notes of the instructor get transferred to the notebooks of the students without passing through the brains of either," while he was giving a (good) lecture during which I'm sure many listeners (like me) were taking notes, I believe he appreciated a certain irony in his stance, and that his tongue was lodged firmly in cheek.
There are so many situations where we happily take in ideas in a receptive mode--movies or the theater come to mind, not to mention "lectures" that we go to for fun--that demonstrate the viability of the medium.
On the other hand, I see too many kids who never really engage with school material because their teachers give (bad) lectures and assess understanding on fill-in-the blank handouts and tests where there are only correct and incorrect answers. I always refer back in my own mind to Miss Dempsey, my eighth grade teacher, who would open the social studies book and read it to us verbatim for that class, with the windows closed and the radiators clanking in a stuffy, smelly room.
That kind of person is still around, although not many could reach the standards for boredom that she set.
Isn't the key to a good lecturer her enthusiasm for the subject matter, ability to tell a story, and awareness of her audience? That translates to audience engagement, rather than mandatory auditing.
WORLD OF LEARNING: THE DISORIENTING DILEMMA
"Multicultural Critical Theory: At B-School?" The New York Times 1/9/10
This article, about a trend in business schools to offer curriculum concerned with "thinking through clashing priorities and potential options, rather than hewing to any pre-planned strategy," was closely related to a couple of items I've come across recently.
In an earlier Times piece on keeping memory strong and the brain active as it ages (Friday, January 1, 2010 WORLD OF LEARNING), Barbara Strauch notes that "a professor...at Columbia Teachers College has proposed that adults learn best if presented with what he calls a 'disorienting dilemma,' or something that 'helps you critically reflect on the assumptions you’ve acquired.' I would argue that this is critical for learning at any age.
And on PBS's This Emotional Life, another professional opines, "It is in...conflict that we really capture the difference in perspective that is the reason for having a group in the first place."
This article, about a trend in business schools to offer curriculum concerned with "thinking through clashing priorities and potential options, rather than hewing to any pre-planned strategy," was closely related to a couple of items I've come across recently.
In an earlier Times piece on keeping memory strong and the brain active as it ages (Friday, January 1, 2010 WORLD OF LEARNING), Barbara Strauch notes that "a professor...at Columbia Teachers College has proposed that adults learn best if presented with what he calls a 'disorienting dilemma,' or something that 'helps you critically reflect on the assumptions you’ve acquired.' I would argue that this is critical for learning at any age.
And on PBS's This Emotional Life, another professional opines, "It is in...conflict that we really capture the difference in perspective that is the reason for having a group in the first place."
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
WORLD OF LEARNING: WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER?
"What Makes a Great Teacher?" The Atlantic January/February 2010
Great article based on the findings of Teach for America. Three key attributes of a good teacher: High expectations and instruction based on those expectations, solid preparation and positive midset. If nothing else, watch the wonderful video of "The Motivator."
Great article based on the findings of Teach for America. Three key attributes of a good teacher: High expectations and instruction based on those expectations, solid preparation and positive midset. If nothing else, watch the wonderful video of "The Motivator."
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
LARS'S LIBRARY
Meet the national ambassador for young people’s literature, the stellar children's author Katherine Paterson, who succeeds the first envoy, the stellar children's author Jon Scieszka, who did a stellar job in the position awarded by the Library of Congress.
WORLD OF LEARNING: IS LISTENING LEARNING? PART 2
"Reading Aloud to Teens Gains Favor Among Teachers" Education Week 1/4/10
Yet more on the case for listening!
Yet more on the case for listening!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
WORLD OF LEARNING: IS LISTENING LEARNING?
"Listening to Braille" The New York Times 12/30/09
More about the benefits and drawbacks of audio, as in, "Can you be literate if your only access to literature is audial?" It's a subject I've started getting obsessive about, as indicated previously in WORLD OF LEARNING: LISTENING IS LEARNING and RECENT NEWS: THE CASE FOR LISTENING.
On one side of the debate in the Times story, "the literary scholar Walter Ong, who argued that members of literate societies think differently than members of oral societies." And the National Federation of the Blind whose "mantra, 'listening is not literacy'" is "repeated everywhere" at their convention. On the other, the blind "managing director of a Wall Street investment management firm" who feels that Braille is "an arcane means of communication, which for the most part should be abolished." And the governor of New York, who "dictates his memos" and has "pertinent newspaper articles...read...aloud on his voice mail every morning." Are they illiterate?
More about the benefits and drawbacks of audio, as in, "Can you be literate if your only access to literature is audial?" It's a subject I've started getting obsessive about, as indicated previously in WORLD OF LEARNING: LISTENING IS LEARNING and RECENT NEWS: THE CASE FOR LISTENING.
On one side of the debate in the Times story, "the literary scholar Walter Ong, who argued that members of literate societies think differently than members of oral societies." And the National Federation of the Blind whose "mantra, 'listening is not literacy'" is "repeated everywhere" at their convention. On the other, the blind "managing director of a Wall Street investment management firm" who feels that Braille is "an arcane means of communication, which for the most part should be abolished." And the governor of New York, who "dictates his memos" and has "pertinent newspaper articles...read...aloud on his voice mail every morning." Are they illiterate?
WORLD OF LEARNING: LEARNING DOES NOT EQUAL LISTENING TO A LECTURE PART 2
I've been corresponding on Facebook about the Eric Mazur peer instruction approach with a parent. I've been working with her autistic son over the past year, and she was the one who guided me to the YouTube lecture (kind of ironic that we got inspired by a lecture that is against lecturing). So far:
PRAMILA: Focusing on another topic that is dear to me now, I am very inspired by Prof Muzur's talk. Yesterday at 12:43pm
LARS: This was fantastic, Pramila. Loved this: "The lecture method is a process whereby the lecture notes of the instructor get transferred to the notebooks of the students without passing through the brains of either." Yesterday at 7:26pm
PRAMILA: Amazing talk, isnt it? There should be a simplified way to adapt the approach of discussion for our kids. 11 hours ago
LARS: I agree. I think the key elements of the approach are: 1) ask a conceptual (rather than content) question with choices for the answer, 2) prompt learners to silently consider which answer they would would choose and to marshall arguments to back up that choice, and 3) talk to other learners to see whose choice is most persuasive. That's a process that seems adaptable, don't you think? 7 minutes ago
PRAMILA: Focusing on another topic that is dear to me now, I am very inspired by Prof Muzur's talk. Yesterday at 12:43pm
LARS: This was fantastic, Pramila. Loved this: "The lecture method is a process whereby the lecture notes of the instructor get transferred to the notebooks of the students without passing through the brains of either." Yesterday at 7:26pm
PRAMILA: Amazing talk, isnt it? There should be a simplified way to adapt the approach of discussion for our kids. 11 hours ago
LARS: I agree. I think the key elements of the approach are: 1) ask a conceptual (rather than content) question with choices for the answer, 2) prompt learners to silently consider which answer they would would choose and to marshall arguments to back up that choice, and 3) talk to other learners to see whose choice is most persuasive. That's a process that seems adaptable, don't you think? 7 minutes ago
Saturday, January 2, 2010
WORLD OF LEARNING: LEARNING DOES NOT EQUAL LISTENING TO A LECTURE PART 1
"Confessions of a Converted Lecturer: Eric Mazur" YouTube 11/12/09
What could I, who suffers from an out-of-control fear of science instruction, learn about teaching from a Harvard physicist? A lot. A very inspiring, and entertaining, way to spend an hour and a half. Mazur's primary conclusion is that you learn new ideas much better from a fellow novice than from an "expert."
"The better you know something," Mazur remarks, "the more difficult it becomes to teach, because you’re no longer aware of the conceptual difficulties of the beginning learner." He gives his students many opportunities to test their understanding on each other, rather than just testing them on how much they remember of what he said.
This is subversive in the amphitheater classes used for college survey courses, and his lecture halls are raucous and filled with students twisting and turning in their seats. But Mazur has the data to show that it works, and that, "It’s not about remembering the information; it’s about using the information."
As he points out, "The lecture method is a process whereby the lecture notes of the instructor get transferred to the notebooks of the students without passing through the brains of either."
What could I, who suffers from an out-of-control fear of science instruction, learn about teaching from a Harvard physicist? A lot. A very inspiring, and entertaining, way to spend an hour and a half. Mazur's primary conclusion is that you learn new ideas much better from a fellow novice than from an "expert."
"The better you know something," Mazur remarks, "the more difficult it becomes to teach, because you’re no longer aware of the conceptual difficulties of the beginning learner." He gives his students many opportunities to test their understanding on each other, rather than just testing them on how much they remember of what he said.
This is subversive in the amphitheater classes used for college survey courses, and his lecture halls are raucous and filled with students twisting and turning in their seats. But Mazur has the data to show that it works, and that, "It’s not about remembering the information; it’s about using the information."
As he points out, "The lecture method is a process whereby the lecture notes of the instructor get transferred to the notebooks of the students without passing through the brains of either."
WORLD OF LEARNING
"Mind Reading" The New York Times 12/31/09
Alison Gopnik's review of Stanislaus Dehaene's Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention. Gopnik indicates that Dehaene writes from a Chomsky/Pinker perspective of "innateness," which I didn't realize from what I've read about the book before. She also indicates that he makes a strong argument for that perspective. One fascinating example that she cites are the shapes of letters: "It turns out that T shapes are important to monkeys, too."
That very "innate" quality of letters, however, Gopnik thinks, might mean Dehaene is not completely convinced that “new cultural inventions can only be acquired insofar as they fit the constraints of our brain architecture.” While monkeys (and children and dyslexics) have trouble with "p," "q," "d" and "b"—primate brains identify them identicallly—most of us learn to distinguish them. Indeed, we have an "extraordinary ability to 'mirror-read' and 'mirror-write.'"
This back-and-forth type of brain investigation, which tries to balance what we're given with what we make of it, really intrigues me. How structured are our brains? How flexible are our brains?
Alison Gopnik's review of Stanislaus Dehaene's Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention. Gopnik indicates that Dehaene writes from a Chomsky/Pinker perspective of "innateness," which I didn't realize from what I've read about the book before. She also indicates that he makes a strong argument for that perspective. One fascinating example that she cites are the shapes of letters: "It turns out that T shapes are important to monkeys, too."
That very "innate" quality of letters, however, Gopnik thinks, might mean Dehaene is not completely convinced that “new cultural inventions can only be acquired insofar as they fit the constraints of our brain architecture.” While monkeys (and children and dyslexics) have trouble with "p," "q," "d" and "b"—primate brains identify them identicallly—most of us learn to distinguish them. Indeed, we have an "extraordinary ability to 'mirror-read' and 'mirror-write.'"
This back-and-forth type of brain investigation, which tries to balance what we're given with what we make of it, really intrigues me. How structured are our brains? How flexible are our brains?
Friday, January 1, 2010
WORLD OF LEARNING
"How to Train the Aging Brain" The New York Times 12/29/09
Love the idea of the "disorienting dilemma" as key to learning. I believe it applies to young minds as well as old in strengthening brain power. It connects to an observation of Isaac Asimov's I came across in Stuart Brown's Play: "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That’s funny…'" The hardest part of learning is often accepting disorientation. It's also the critical, and easily accessible, part of humor.
Love the idea of the "disorienting dilemma" as key to learning. I believe it applies to young minds as well as old in strengthening brain power. It connects to an observation of Isaac Asimov's I came across in Stuart Brown's Play: "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That’s funny…'" The hardest part of learning is often accepting disorientation. It's also the critical, and easily accessible, part of humor.
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