During the second meeting the following was planned for discussion:
CHAPTER 2: What Do They Know about How We Learn?
p.24 Students make A’s by learning to plug and chug, memorizing formulas, sticking numbers into the right equation, or the right vocabulary into a paragraph, but understanding little. When class is over they quickly forget much of what they learned.
- Knowledge is constructed, not received. Students bring their own mental images to the classroom, and see new information through their personal lens. Best teachers want students to build new mental models.
- Mental Models Change slowly, to learn deeply, students must realize their existing mental models are not working, care that it’s not working, and be able to accept the discomfort of this process. Students are given opportunities to try, think, fail, and try again….They ask questions to help students see their mistakes. Help students build their understanding and use information to solve problems.
- Questions are crucial: Questions help us construct and “file” our knowledge for future retrieval, Good teachers define the teachers and lay the foundation for students to develop their own set of questions. (What do you know, what do you want to know about this topic……)
- Caring is Crucial: Without caring there is no need to change our thinking….
WHAT MOTOVATES, WHAT DISCOURAGES?
TAKING A DEVELOPMENTAL VIEW OF LEARNING?
Stage1: Leaning is simply a matter of getting the “right” answers, they expect teachers to “deposit” the correct answers into their heads.
Help them by asking them to list the key facts, definitions etc.
Stage2: Students believe that all knowledge is a matter of opinion, use feeling to make judgements. How do we know something, why do we accept of believe this… Emphasize the trajectory of knowledge, we didn’t know this or do this x years ago. What questions do we still need to answer?
Stage3: procedural knowers-learn to play the fame, learn the “tricks” to demonstrate knowing…..but don’t develop deep understanding.
Stage4: Committed learners: Students become independent, critical, and creative thinkers valuing new ideas, and trying to use their new found knowledge independently.
SUMMARY: Students need to care about the subject to deeply learn. Extrinsic rewards and/ or punishments can actually reduce motivation if they seem manipulative. Students learn more if they enjoy (care) about the subject.
Best teachers embed skills and information in their assignments (questions and tasks) that arouse curiosity, challenge students to rethink assumption/ they create a safe environment in which students can try, come up short, receive feedback, and try again. Students learn to question themselves….
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