Friday, March 26, 2010
March 25th
The training film for the Japanese Zero brought some questions to mind. They used repetition and memorization. Is that the best way? For example in a classroom today, if I was trying to get students to recognize the difference between two very similar things, I would get them to come up with strategies that would help them figure it out rather than memorize it. That's what the faculty of education taught me to do with my students. Here's how I relate...one of my subjects is English at the high school level. You would think that by the time students get to high school that they could tell the difference between "there" and "their" (no offence Mike!!I know you pointed out your mistake from your scapbook). This is one mistake I find OFTEN in student work. They sound the same, they are spelled similar, so how do you get them to remember the difference? Repeat and memorize? Well, look how well it's been working...10 years of school and they still can't remember it. I teach them to use this strategy: Where are you putting that book, over there or over here? "Here" is inside the word "there" and therefore, "there" refers to a place. The word "heir" is inside the word "their" which refers to a person who will receive property. Therefore, "their" is possessive. I'm not saying this is the end-all, be-all way to teach the difference, but I'm only suggesting that memorizing the difference hasn't been working, otherwise I would't still be catching that in student work at the high school level. Back to the Japanese zero, this is a little different because you don't have a lot of time to differentiate between the two. It's kind of like a backcatcher catching a pitcher's curve ball. You have to be ready to move infront of it or you'll get hit in the head. Guess how they teach baseball players to hit baseballs....you guessed it...they show them pictures of what the ball looks like coming toward you. When Michael Jordan decided to take up baseball, he commented on how he watched tape after tape of baseballs coming toward him so that when he got to bat he knew how to hit them. So, in regard to teaching pilots how to quickly decide which plane is a Japanese Zero at high altitudes and fast speeds, I'm not sure how better you can do it. Maybe they need to paint all their planes a bright colour and therefore anything that wasn't had to be the opposition. Process of elimination??
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I concur, Lana. Their and there are definitely two words that are confusing for many students. We should not forget "they are" or they're. The other one that gives most students trouble is your and you're. The most famous of all is the triplet to, too, and two. Memorization should not be dismissed amongst the many strategies used to learn, it just should not be the primary method. As well, research in neuroplasticity indicates that neuropathways can be established, or in the case of someone who has had a stroke, re-established, through exercises that are repetitive in nature. Optimally, as educators, we should be developing in our students the ability to learn through multiple intelligences. Easier said than done (and yet another source of aggravation, then and than). I quote Thomas Armstrong here, "one of the most remarkable features of the theory of multiple intelligences is how it provides eight different potential pathways to learning. If a teacher is having difficulty reaching a student in the more traditional linguistic or logical ways of instruction, the theory of multiple intelligences suggests several other ways in which the material might be presented to facilitate effective learning. Whether you are a kindergarten teacher, a graduate school instructor, or an adult learner seeking better ways of pursuing self-study on any subject of interest, the same basic guidelines apply." Your deconstructive approach (their and heir & there and here) is a very impressive way of addressing the confusion students experience with certain words as it forces them to think "through" the word, not just memorize the difference.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, Lana - thanks for the language lesson, too! I think there is a place for memorization as well. Understanding should be the goal, but somethings a person just needs to know (like recognizing the enemy). By the way, take a look at the photos I put on my blog, specifically the P-40 Warhawk - is that what you mean by bright colours??
ReplyDeleteLike the example, Lana! You also ask the same question I was asking when I read Kirschner, "What's the best way?" Is a best way provable? I am of the school "whatever works," given whatever works is ethical/legal. Having said that, the best of the day educational research, as depicted in Jap Zero, should be regarded. The learning objects of today should also encapsulate the best of techniques known. Your here/there, heir/their technique is easy to follow and makes sense. We can build an app for that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the English lesson. My students taught me the difference between through and threw last semester! Did you get the chance to WOW the math teachers at your school with the slide rule?
ReplyDeleteNone taken, Lana! It's funny that you mention visual learning/learners, because as much as I really took in the concept of Gardiner's Multiple Intelligences while I was in the Faculty of Ed, I really think that the overwhelming process for learners today (and I guess back in the time of the Japanese Zero) is visual imagery.
ReplyDeleteI guess some things never change.
Good point about visual learning, Mike. It is so useful for learning, yet, so much of what we do is text or aural based.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to teach "their" and "there" as I have never heard of that strategy before! I think memorization works in some cases but in others, I think there could be better ways to learn.
ReplyDelete