I would agree completely with Karl Kapp (2007) comments concerning the different –isms in education. Kapp (2007) suggested the behavioral approach to learning happens at a younger age to learn information and then switches to cognitivism to allow for a more procedural approach and finally use the constructivist approach for problem-solving areas. I don’t feel there is one single method in which to teach every individual. Classroom teachers are faced with this issue on a daily basis and have to use different methods of teaching to try and reach every child in that specific classroom. However, with the lack of parental support to ensure that the behavioral approach of drill and practice are happening outside the classroom is creating a constant battle for teachers. Just like with any sport repetition is necessary to learn the technique at an early age. The stages of memory as outlined by Driscoll (2005) are sensory, working, and finally long-term memory. The sensory memory is the visual or auditory stimulus which can trigger the working memory which is also known as the short-term memory (Discoll, 2005). If you constantly think about something then that is in your subconscious which is associated with your working memory and with the proper coding can be placed into long-term memory and retrieved at a later time (Driscoll, 2005). The saying “it’s just like a riding a bike” meaning once you have learned a specific task or learned information your mind should be able to retrieve that information when needed. So which learning theory is best for all students – I don’t think there is a specific answer to that question. Each child is different in their learning ability so a variety of strategies must be incorporated into all grade levels to ensure information is learned and stored correctly for later use.
http://www.pnas.org/content/97/23/12403.full.pdf+html
This is an interesting study concerning song birds and their songs they sing during mating season. How do these birds learn their species song – is it innate or are their environmental factors that will affect their learning. We can relate this to human learning and memory. Do children of parents who are both doctors have a higher cognitive ability at birth compared to parents who are less educated? Understanding the brain and the neurotransmitters and synapses associated with learning need to be studied more, but how do you conduct these types of studies?
http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/archive/2008/01/02/working-memory-vs-routine-activity.aspx
This blog looks at working memory verse routine activity and how these can help you understand and code information for later use. Working memory is the short term memory which is stored in the frontal cortex of the brain, but has limited holding capacity. Repetition of an event like studying information for a test will push this knowledge into the basal ganglia which is then stored in long-term memory. Sometimes it is hard for us to remember a few specific things to accomplish and this is why lists are important because you are not trying to encode this information, but rather it is just needed for the present time.
References:
Ini, Cetak. (2007, November 28). Retrieved March 28, 2010, from http://rizky-
fryansyah.blogspot.com/2007/11/early-childhood-education.html.
Kapp, Karl. (2007, January 02). Retrieved March 28, 2010, from
http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational.html.
Meiser, J.D. (2008, January 2). Working memory verse routine memory. Retrieved March 28,
2010, from http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/archive/2008/01/02/working-memory-vs-
routine-activity.aspx.
Okano, H., Hirano, T., & Balaban, E. (2000, November 7). Learning and memory. Proceeding of
the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 97(23), 12403–
12404. Retrieved March 28, 2010, from
http://www.pnas.org/content/97/23/12403.full.pdf+html
Sarah, As a science teacher this cerebral cortex discussion should be right down your proverbial basal ganglia alley! For me, however, it poses interesting challenges. For instance what is most likely already stored in your long-term memory causes me to stop, read again, consider, and internalize before I can proceed.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post (several times) and then reading Meier's (2008) blog (again, several times) I am beginning to feel sympathy for the future for the basal ganglia. Will technology and the evolutionary process either overload it's rather small capacity or perhaps cause its demise? I am referring to the part of the brain responsible for rote or habit memory; that part that initiates automatic behaviors with little thought applied.
Imagine the following: When I was young we memorized everybody's phone numbers. We memorized the patterns to push the buttons (or turn the dial) on our phones, we memorized poems, math facts and formulas, history dates, spelling rules, the Pledge of Allegiance, and religious tenets, among a miriad other mundane bits and pieces. We shoved this information into our basal ganglia until we no longer thought about the numbers or words; they became automatic. Today I polled one class of middle school students to find out how many could tell me the home phone numbers. Out of a class of 18, 5 students no longer had a home phone, 3 claimed to know the number although one stumbled as they tried to recall it, and the other 10 did not have a clue.
The point is, if our electronic devices serve the purpose of our basal ganglia, will our brains, both physically and cognitively begin to change? Will it one day become the basal ganglia become vestigial or evolve to serve a deeper function than just rote knowledge?
This all seems to have rather deep implications for learning theory. It appears that how we teach and learn must evolve to reflect the changes occuring due to the place and power of technology.
Anne!! I love all of your science terms!!! Great questions posed as well concerning would technology cause vestigial structures within our brains - perhaps. Our mouth structure is starting to change due to the increase in the amount we talk. I for example did not have wisdom teeth (no funny jokes!) which help to increase my mouth structure allowing my tongue to move more and increase my speed of speech and pronunciation. With increase in technology use will our eyes structure change or our fingers - would our finger tips change because of all the typing both on our computer and cell phones? Great questions!! I guess time will tell since an evolutionary change will take some time :)
ReplyDeleteSarah