[IAEP] maths instruction

[K. K. Subramaniam]

On Thursday 30 April 2009 8:04:37 pm Kathy Pusztavari wrote:
> I'm of the direct instruction camp.  If skills and concepts are not build
> upon each other correctly, you will get kids that either learn a concept
> wrong (then they have to unlearn it) or fail and then feel like they are
> stupid.......
I hope between the 'instruction' camp and the 'construction' camp we don't lose sight of the learner - the individual! :-). The extent to which the learner has control over the learning process seems to have a big difference in the outcomes. There is a big difference between 'feeling stupid' and being told 'one is stupid'. Falling down and feeling stupid at times are part of the learning curve. Being told that one is stupid because one has not understood the concepts presented in a particular way is not.

> .....It should help nerds (what I loving call you guys) 
> when they program modules.  How do you teach a skill or concept when you
> are not sure the student has prerequisite skills or knowledge?
You don't, not if you expect a favorable outcome:
   http://boyslife.org/jokes/1296/three-scouts-good-deeds/

Kids are both with their "syllabus" and learn all the time (till they become teens anyway :-)):
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/michael_merzenich_on_the_elastic_brain.html

Most cases of bad grades and drop-outs turn out to be a mismatch between the learner's expectation and the teacher's method. The tough question is really about how a teacher can discover the learner's method.

Subbu
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