[IAEP] [support-gang] When teaching restrains discovery

[Yioryos Asprobounitis]

I do not know if anyone did read the actual scientific paper in the journal "Cognition" that initiated this discussion (needs subscription) but it basically provides quantitative  evidence that:
 
a) preschoolers, if they are formally taught  only one function, also assume this as _evidence_  that other functions are missing(!) and  
b) that the "instructions" can be direct (to them) or indirect (to other kids) but are _ignored_ if they are towards adults ( a very interesting point, I think).

What is also  interesting is that the data indicate that kids "instructed" of one function but _not_ as if this was the only one, did equally well (actually slightly better) in discovering other functions as(/than) the kids that they were not instructed at all!

So the paper has really more to do with the style of the instructional teaching than instructional versus explorative.
At least as far as the preschooler cognitive process is concern.

--- On Wed, 1/19/11, James Simmons <nicestep at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: James Simmons <nicestep at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [support-gang] [IAEP]  When teaching restrains discovery
> To: "Caryl Bigenho" <cbigenho at hotmail.com>
> Cc: "IAEP SugarLabs" <iaep at lists.sugarlabs.org>, support-gang at laptop.org
> Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 5:43 PM
> I have a niece (not a blood relation,
> I'm a friend of the family she
> calls "uncle") who went to the Illinois Math and Science
> Academy.
> They had a kind of open house where parents and guests
> could meet her
> teachers.  From what I heard it sounds like education
> there is very
> much like you describe.  Her father used to complain
> that "the
> teachers don't teach!"
> 
> IMSA is a public boarding school.  Every kid in it is
> the smartest kid
> in his old school.  They have a huge glass display
> case for chess
> trophies.  It's one of the most remarkable places I've
> ever visited.
> I wish I could have gone to high school there, but there's
> no way I
> could have qualified at that age.
> 
> Mel Chua went there.
> 
> James Simmons
> 
> 
> On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 4:27 PM, Caryl Bigenho <cbigenho at hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Hi Folks... The retired teacher talking here.....
> >
> > "Discovery learning" in a properly prepared,
> semi-structured environment
> > works. Look at the success of the Montessori method.
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_method
> >
> > Intervention is helpful at times, but only as a last
> resort.  If a child is
> > stumped and ready to give up and go on to other
> things, a little "nudge" in
> > the right direction can open up new discoveries.
> >
> > Actually, I discovered "discovery learning" myself as
> a young teacher.
> > Trying to apply it to math wasn't always easy.  That
> is probably why science
> > seemed so much more fun to teach.
> >
> > Another thing I discovered was Project Based Learning
> (BPL).  It started
> > when I was teaching beginning Algebra classes of over
> 40 students.  "Why not
> > try letting them work on things in teams like we do in
> science?, I thought.
> > When I had teams of 2, that cut my effective class
> size in half to 20+.
> > Groups of 4 gave me just 10+.
> >
> > The kids loved it and I was able to gently "nudge"
> groups in the right
> > direction when they were really stuck, praise
> successes, and suggest
> > enrichment activities. Occasionally a student or
> parent would complain that
> > my class was "noisy." But, it was good, productive
> noise.  They were
> > learning!
> >
> > BTW, does anyone remember the good old "new math"
> program called SSMCIS?
> > (AKA the "Columbia Program", named after the
> university where it
> > originated)  I Beta-tested it when it was still in
> the pre-publication
> > stage.  Lots of discovery and PBL there.  It was a
> lot of fun, but they did
> > have to  train us teachers first!
> >
> > http://mathforum.org/kb/thread.jspa?forumID=304&threadID=714464&messageID=7143356
> >
> > More thoughts coming re the "Tiger Mom,"  kids
> outdoors, and the world we
> > live in today.!  The "mom" will reply!
> >
> > Caryl
> >
> > ________________________________
> > Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:32:59 -0500
> > From: holt at laptop.org
> > To: support-gang at laptop.org;
> iaep at lists.sugarlabs.org
> > Subject: Re: [support-gang] When teaching restrains
> discovery
> >
> > On 1/19/2011 1:29 PM, Christoph Derndorfer wrote:
> >
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I just stumbled across this fascinating article called
> "When teaching
> > restrains discovery"
> > (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/01/18/when-teaching-restrains-discovery/)
> >
> > Indeed such unstructured & unsupervised play
> (nevermind the outdoors!) may
> > be "obsolete" in rich, overparented societies per
> "Last Child in the Woods"
> > (Richard Louv, 336p, 2005), "Free-Range Kids" (Lenore
> Skenazy, 256p, 2009),
> > "Play Again" (2010 film) etc.
> >
> > But the patient (exploratory learning) won't die
> without a fight -- witness
> > the ongoing backlash against last week's "Why Chinese
> Mothers Are Superior"
> > (WSJ, Jan 8 2011), "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother"
> (Amy Chua, 256p, 2011)
> > etc:
> >
> >     The Unused Playground: Kids Need to be Out in
> Nature, Yet We Keep Them
> > Caged. By Phil Primack
> >     ...studies, hearings, and slogans (“Leave No
> Child Inside”) won’t
> > significantly reduce the great disconnect between kids
> and nature unless
> > parents – many raised amid “Stranger Danger” and
> other media-stoked fears
> > themselves – are willing to grant kids more
> freedom...
> >
> > http://boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2010/09/12/the_unused_playground/
> >
> >     Nature Deficit Disorder: Kids Who Don’t Get
> Outside Can Pay To Play
> >     http://radioboston.wbur.org/2011/01/18/nature-deficit
> >
> > http://feeds.wbur.org/~r/WBURRadioBoston/~5/6EoG_ogxORs/radioboston_0118.mp3
> >     (Listen from 15m40s to 35m06s)
> >
> >     Amy Chua Is a Wimp: “Battle Hymn of the Tiger
> Mother” may denounce soft
> > American-style parenting, but its author shelters her
> children from the
> > truly arduous experiences necessary to achieve.
> >     http://nytimes.com/2011/01/18/opinion/18brooks.html
> >
> > --
> > Help kids everywhere map their world, at http://olpcMAP.net !
> >
> > which is based on a very recently published paper
> whose title really
> > says it all "The double-edged sword of pedagogy:
> Instruction limits
> > spontaneous exploration and discovery"
> > (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T24-51WV6VK-1&_user=10&_coverDate=01/08/2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=b3319a977badfb35348871b64a9e1d4c&searchtype=a).
> >
> > Definitely well worth a read in my opinion. :-)
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Christoph
> >
> >
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