Chart 2.
When teachers assign kids specific questions in such subjects as math or history, is it more important that:
Kids struggle with the process of trying to find the right answers 86%
Kids end up knowing the right answers to the questions or problems 12%
For all charts, numbers do not total 100% because "don't know" responses are not reported and because of rounding.
source:
Different Drummers: How Teachers of Teachers View Public Education
There are very few parents who would choose "struggles with the process" over "knows his math facts cold."
Evidence?
86% of the public public "want[s] students to memorize the multiplication tables and do math by hand before using calculators." (p. 38)
Interestingly, 73% of teachers say the same thing.
Of course, that was back in 1997.
The baby boomers are retiring now, so I imagine that figure is declining.
Different Drummers
education professors: students must struggle
gifted children and ed schools
constructivism and classroom discipline
make them struggle
KUMON: "work that can be easily completed"
handing it to the student
I love Kumon! The anti-struggle way to learn.
ReplyDeleteThe Kumon method, Step 1:
Students begin at a comfortable starting point—determined by our placement test—with work that can be easily completed. This way your child will master the basics and gain complete proficiency with each successive step. Kumon students develop better concentration and study habits because they don't get frustrated by our learning process.
Also, from Step 5:
Your child’s individualized program is never compromised by the needs of a group or a prescribed teaching agenda.
http://www.kumon.com/method/default.asp?language=USA