tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post2528525625661399803..comments2024-03-26T04:19:38.862-07:00Comments on kitchen table math, the sequel: The deathless meme of learning stylesCatherine Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-13107157936190358592012-06-28T18:52:30.534-07:002012-06-28T18:52:30.534-07:00Thanks for the links -- the Kirschner one is excel...Thanks for the links -- the Kirschner one is excellent. Maybe even worth...paper!Jennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-35175549012152654262012-06-28T17:18:34.354-07:002012-06-28T17:18:34.354-07:00Daniel - I bet it's the Clark piece! Gotta fin...Daniel - I bet it's the Clark piece! Gotta find the passage and post it for posterity!<br /><br />Also: <a href="http://www.brainrules.net/pdf/brainrules_summaries.pdf" rel="nofollow">Brain Rules</a>Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-61496090265940834062012-06-28T17:00:08.737-07:002012-06-28T17:00:08.737-07:00Catherine, you are probably remembering one of the...Catherine, you are probably remembering one of the following articles:<br /><br />http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/spring2012/Clark.pdf<br /><br />http://www.davidlewisphd.com/courses/EDD8001/weeklys/2004-Mayer.pdf<br /><br />http://igitur-archive.library.uu.nl/fss/2006-1214-211848/kirschner_06_minimal_guidance.pdf<br /><br />The first one is a great overall summary.Daniel Ethierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11009564524804093995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-64457125641819230242012-06-28T15:57:19.895-07:002012-06-28T15:57:19.895-07:00The best refutation of learning styles theory I ha...The best refutation of learning styles theory I have ever read is Chapter 7 of Daniel Willingham's book <i>Why Don't Students Like School</i>. Regretfully, Google Books does not provide it as a sample chapter. <br /><br />Mr. Willingham's central argument is that while each of us has perceptual strengths and weaknesses, learning is NOT perception. Learning is making meaning of perception, which occurs entirely in the mind. Some knowledge is easiest to make meaningful through a specific type of perception. For instance: learning geography is much easier when done via looking at maps rather than listening to a description of each country's borders.<br /><br />I highly recommend not only this chapter, but Mr. Willingham's whole book. Tons of common sense backed up by real, skeptical science.Miss Fridaynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-10679099504175915792012-06-28T08:17:10.033-07:002012-06-28T08:17:10.033-07:00If Jensen is all you're reading, you need to r...If Jensen is all you're reading, you need to read a little bit more.Jennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-55369162740242342962012-06-28T07:22:58.697-07:002012-06-28T07:22:58.697-07:00"Underlying the "learning styles" f..."Underlying the "learning styles" fad is something that is true, but far less encouraging than its proponents will admit. There are some things that have to be learned "kinesthetically," like swimming. Other things have to be learned "visuall," like recognizing the letters of the alphabet."<br /><br />Right. Also, some kids have short attention spans and may need to alternate lots of physical activity with their academics. I also remember reading about a mother who had good results by having her son do math facts while bouncing on a trampoline. It wasn't that the kid was a "kinesthetic" learner, it was just that his body needed to be doing something while his mind was doing math facts. Less dramatically, psychologists often encourage fidget items for special needs children, for instance a squishy ball. There is research that chewing gum (!!!) helps with concentration. This totally goes against the old conventional wisdom, which said that a still body was necessary for a focused mind. What people have started realizing is that fidgets can actually be a sign of a person who is struggling to pay attention, and they should actually be encouraged. <br /><br />"Learning styles" as usually understood are garbage, but it is true that individuals are different, just not quite in the ways envisioned by conventional "learning style" theory.AmyPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-66487087147042079902012-06-28T06:11:04.961-07:002012-06-28T06:11:04.961-07:00IQ is measurable and scientific -- read Arthur Jen...IQ is measurable and scientific -- read Arthur Jensen's books -- but IQ tests reveal large race and class differences in average intelligence. You are called a racist for noticing that, so instead it better career-wise to talk about learning styles and say that poorly-performing kids are not less intelligent that the higher achieving ones but simply have different "learning styles".<br /><br />Howard Gardner, creator of the "multiple intelligences" theory, deliberately invented things such as "bodily-kinesthetic" intelligence because he knew that intelligence as traditionally defined is not evenly distributed among groups. "Learning styles" seek to exploit multiple intelligences, but bodily-kinesthetic intelligence does not help you learn algebra or read Tolstoy in the absence of sufficient IQ.Bostoniannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-9147205201613292652012-06-28T05:47:46.072-07:002012-06-28T05:47:46.072-07:00Underlying the "learning styles" fad is ...Underlying the "learning styles" fad is something that is true, but far less encouraging than its proponents will admit. There are some things that have to be learned "kinesthetically," like swimming. Other things have to be learned "visuall," like recognizing the letters of the alphabet. We all have to use the faculty in question in order to learn those specific things. But, for some people the faculty is more well-developed than for others. I will never be a ballet dancer because I don't have the kinesthetic skills. Some people have extreme difficulty learning to recognize letters. That doesn't mean they should try to learn letter-recognition some other way than visuallly (although sand-paper letters were an attempt to bolster visual with kinesthetic learning). It just means it will take longer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-70621345614406731682012-06-27T19:22:54.989-07:002012-06-27T19:22:54.989-07:00As The Who once sang: "Meet the new boss; sam...As The Who once sang: "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss."Barry Garelickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01281266848110087415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7691251033406320222.post-77507456963379528582012-06-27T14:00:15.946-07:002012-06-27T14:00:15.946-07:00I have to find the article that actually went thro...I have to find the article that actually went through the history of discovery-based learning .... every generation the theory gets killed off by empirical research, then it comes back to life with a new name and under new management, so to speak.Catherine Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03347093496361370174noreply@blogger.com