Comments on: Dogfooding learning http://blog.melchua.com/2009/01/21/dogfooding-learning/ Braindumps on things Mel Chua has found shiny lately. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:06:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bryan Berry http://blog.melchua.com/2009/01/21/dogfooding-learning/comment-page-1/#comment-1705 Bryan Berry Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:49:52 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/?p=775#comment-1705 Mel, I strongly encourage you to interact more w/ working primary and secondary schools teachers. The lack of their input has made the XO and sugar less effective than they could be. There are lots of interesting theories out there but practical experience trumps theory in the social sciences (and the physical :)) Mel, I strongly encourage you to interact more w/ working primary and secondary schools teachers. The lack of their input has made the XO and sugar less effective than they could be.

There are lots of interesting theories out there but practical experience trumps theory in the social sciences (and the physical :))

]]> By: Collogue » Never ending education http://blog.melchua.com/2009/01/21/dogfooding-learning/comment-page-1/#comment-1703 Collogue » Never ending education Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:21:26 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/?p=775#comment-1703 [...] has a very interesting post about learning. Sugar emphasizes reflection, collaboration, and exploration. I would also add [...] [...] has a very interesting post about learning. Sugar emphasizes reflection, collaboration, and exploration. I would also add [...]

]]> By: Carol Lerche http://blog.melchua.com/2009/01/21/dogfooding-learning/comment-page-1/#comment-1701 Carol Lerche Thu, 22 Jan 2009 05:22:08 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/?p=775#comment-1701 "So as those children proceed through their K-12 grades, large portions of their ways to think will remain much like those of 6-year-olds!” -- This is grossly misleading. Ask your mother if your ways of thinking and learning was the same throughout your K-12 grades. I think she will tell you that they were not. I have two children around your age and I assure you that it was not true for them, or their classmates as I worked with them as a volunteer throughout their K-8 grades. 5 and 6 year olds engage in magical thinking. They are very literal and learn best through concrete activities. They want to touch, smell, hear and taste their world. Individuals in the group show very different strengths and weaknesses -- what Howard Gardner expressed as "multiple intelligences". These are expressed in the ways of learning. Their interpersonal behavior is very different from older kids, which has a huge effect on collaboration strategies and the ability for classroom activites to be structured in groups. Their ability to concentrate is shorter than older children. As children grow their ability to consider abstract ideas grows as well. One example: I taught basic algebra to my kids' classes, for different groups in 6-8 grade. It was very noticeable that these kids reached a developmental level allowing them to actually understand the meaning of the methods that are taught for manipulating abstract expressions and solving equations. This developmental hurdle translated into the ability to master "word problems". This is apparent in reading and writing as well. Analyzing texts, grasping the subtlties of metaphor, grow and change as kids get older and develop. The mental and behavioral changes that a child undergoes as he or she grows to adulthood as astonishing and far more interesting to watch and try to understand than any software project I have ever worked on. “So as those children proceed through their K-12 grades, large portions of their ways to think will remain much like those of 6-year-olds!” — This is grossly misleading. Ask your mother if your ways of thinking and learning was the same throughout your K-12 grades. I think she will tell you that they were not.

I have two children around your age and I assure you that it was not true for them, or their classmates as I worked with them as a volunteer throughout their K-8 grades. 5 and 6 year olds engage in magical thinking. They are very literal and learn best through concrete activities. They want to touch, smell, hear and taste their world. Individuals in the group show very different strengths and weaknesses — what Howard Gardner expressed as “multiple intelligences”. These are expressed in the ways of learning. Their interpersonal behavior is very different from older kids, which has a huge effect on collaboration strategies and the ability for classroom activites to be structured in groups. Their ability to concentrate is shorter than older children. As children grow their ability to consider abstract ideas grows as well.

One example: I taught basic algebra to my kids’ classes, for different groups in 6-8 grade. It was very noticeable that these kids reached a developmental level allowing them to actually understand the meaning of the methods that are taught for manipulating abstract expressions and solving equations. This developmental hurdle translated into the ability to master “word problems”.

This is apparent in reading and writing as well. Analyzing texts, grasping the subtlties of metaphor, grow and change as kids get older and develop.

The mental and behavioral changes that a child undergoes as he or she grows to adulthood as astonishing and far more interesting to watch and try to understand than any software project I have ever worked on.

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