learning
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Learning Itself Has Changed
I teach a math methods class for special education teacher candidates at UCONN. During a lesson on an instructional strategy on making math meaningful, I experienced an epiphany of sorts. The students were partaking in a discovery lesson in which they rotated through using four different types of manipulatives (photo below, left). They would follow…
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Learning Math – The Patting Head and Rubbing Belly Phenomena
In education, math especially, there exist a learning situation I call the patting head and rubbing belly phenomena. In this phenomena students are presented a math problem that consists of several steps they know how to do and then maybe one or two additional steps that are new. Adding the additional step is like adding…
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Information Processing Analogy – Big Picture
Effective instruction is effective because it addresses the key elements of how the brain processes information. I share an analogy to help adults (parents and educators) fully appreciate this. Information Processing Model Below is a model of information processing first introduced to me in a master’s course at UCONN. Here is a summary of what…
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Levels of Learning
Learning is not a singular threshold to be met. There are different levels of learning – a continuum (see photo below taken from the book Teaching Mathematics Meaningfully). A student demonstrating proficiency (fluency) is far different from a student simply showing some level of understanding (acquisition). I remember learning to drive a car with a…