tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107060758629396184.post6029045525375058420..comments2024-03-26T23:23:06.905-07:00Comments on Blogger in Middle-earth: The Ubiquitous Question – a reflection on learningBlogger In Middle-earthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107060758629396184.post-91131839943620089692009-11-03T12:41:37.289-08:002009-11-03T12:41:37.289-08:00Tēnā kōrua!
Kia ora Tania!
I believe thinking an...<b>Tēnā kōrua!<br /><br /><i>Kia ora Tania!</i></b><br /><br />I believe thinking and learning relevantly are intricately meshed together. A consequence of this is the number of <a href="http://newmiddle-earth.blogspot.com/search/label/thinking" rel="nofollow">posts related to thinking</a> that I have bashed out since I started blogging. It's a fascinating area for discussion.<br /><br />My experience in the classroom in New Zealand is that there can often be cultural barriers to learners asking questions.<br /><br />In a class of Māori learners, for instance, it pays to recognise that there may well be a hierarchy or pecking order, which is why so often it is found that one or perhaps two learners in a class are the ones who always ask the questions first, followed by the others hierarchically. This of course is in addition to all the other possible barriers that learners may have when asking questions.<br /><br />All fascinating stuff!<br /><br /><b><i>Tēna koe Rick!</i></b><br /><br />I agree with what you say about misconceptions being hard to unlearn. I think unlearning can be as difficult as learning. It involves similar processes. But a concept learnt wrongly can't be fixed like adjustments made to a wrongly assembled auto-mobile engine for learning is complex, not complicated.<br /><br />I wonder about so-called authentic learning and the artificial questions you speak of. Education is about mind development. And while it is true that 'authentic' learning of relevant and interesting matter, a lot of that can be highly subjective.<br /><br />I admit that this subjectivity so often involves the learner.<br /><br />Perhaps one of the most abstract subjects I've studied is Mathematics. As I watch my children grow and study Art, I realise there are as many abstract ideas in that discipline too. I didn't study Art, at least not formally, but I've a keen interest there. What this brings to me as an educator is a realisation that relevance and interest are also subjective parameters.<br /><br />I've studied music since I was 5 years old and play a series of instruments. It's only recently that I have realised the usefulness (to me) that music brings to all that I have learnt outside that discipline. There are so many fuzzy areas, it is often difficult for me to really identify where music stops and my other interests begin.<br /><br />Relevance, interest and importance to the learner are always going to be in the mind of the educator.<br /><br /><b>Catcha later</b>Blogger In Middle-earthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08722634477041121797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107060758629396184.post-33891133256356685542009-11-02T02:51:57.737-08:002009-11-02T02:51:57.737-08:00One of our assessments asks kids to predict which ...One of our assessments asks kids to predict which object will float based on density calculations. I have watched many students get the answer right, then wrongly assume that anything that is heavy will sink. Misconceptions are hard to unlearn.<br />Truly authentic learning would not require the teacher to ask any form of artificial questions, the learning would be obvious from the products the students produced. But misconceptions are hard to unlearn. And teachers continue to do what they have done, at least on some level. Our current accountability systems certainly do not help this either.<br />In a world where the answer to most questions is a remembered fact, I have often wondered how to get a handle on student’s creative thinking/problem solving processes. Questioning, as a skill (verbal, non-verbal) and metacognition (to be aware that one asked a question in the first place) have seemed to me to be legitimate measures of thinking. I have also thought that the depth of a question might be proportional to understanding of an idea. Of course now I am wondering how to measure that. I will resist asking a question.Rick Bichehttp://ateachersthoughts.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2107060758629396184.post-20283103710123939062009-11-01T13:26:30.092-08:002009-11-01T13:26:30.092-08:00We seem to be on the same wavelength, Ken. I'v...We seem to be on the same wavelength, Ken. I've also been grappling with the question of learning and how it happens. This is such an interesting post and contains many fertile questions to get the reader's learning happening. I agree with you when you say 'not achieving is hardy unequivocal evidence that learning hasn’t happened'. And also that we have constant dialogue in our heads anyway, which makes me wonder why some people/students are reluctant to voice these questions is they're relevant to the conversation. I think many people are still unsure whether their questions will make them look silly; they're unsure of their validity. Thanks for a thought-provoking post.Tania Shekohttp://tsheko.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com