Week 5 Meaningful Learning

Diana Maughan's picture
What is learning?
Meaningful learning is the continual increase of concepts and ideas. Building upon old concepts and propositions and correcting misconceptions as you go. 
 
How can a teacher or trainer effectuate learning?
One of the first steps a teacher must ascertain is what the student already knows, so they have a starting point. Once this information is obtained the teacher needs to then relate the new concept in a way that connects it to previous concepts. A few weeks ago we had a back to school night for my son who is in 8th grade algebra. His teacher showed us a worksheet he has the students complete the first day of class. On this work sheet he had them write numbers by two’s. Having learned this concept in first grade they had no problem accomplishing this. The next question had them replace a number with x +2 and once again they wrote a series of numbers by two’s. This gave them a visual of replacing a number with an x. He had several other examples that showed them the relationship between what they already knew and the concepts they would be learning, thereby building upon the concepts they already knew removing some of the big mystery of algebra.

 

Groups:
Submitted by Diana Maughan on Tue, 09/22/2009 - 7:18pm
Michael Archibald's picture

I really love the math

Submitted by Michael Archibald on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 11:40am.

I really love the math example you give in your blog this week.  I also feel that student's learn best when they can take something they know (especially if it is simple) and then build upon that knowledge.  Subjects and content are easier to understand when they are relatable.  A teacher's responsibility is to make the apprehesion of knowledge simple and straightforward. 

Doug Holton's picture

foundations 2009

Submitted by Doug Holton on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 12:46pm.

Remember to choose the 'Foundations 2009' group when posting to your blog

Haley's picture

All this week we have been

Submitted by Haley (not verified) on Fri, 09/25/2009 - 8:56am.
All this week we have been learning about connecting learning, but I like your emphasis on correcting misconceptions. That is very important, especially as we try to make comparisons to what we already know and realize that the new and old knowledge might not be entirely aligned. We can use the old knowledge, but we also need to understand it is different from the knew knowledge.
Howard Bezzant's picture

Week4-building on what you know

Submitted by Howard Bezzant on Fri, 09/25/2009 - 10:00pm.

Diana,

 

Fantastic example of the teacher using a concept mapping principle to help 1) dispell a preconcieved fear of a subject, and 2) to query the knowledge base of students and establish a concept and propositional framework basis of true knowledge to build new concepts into.  I hope the class continues like this.  I wish we had legislators who would do this before they start messing with requirements and limiting opportunities for student choice.  We oftem see when they take the attitude of "father knows best", they take away the chance for many students to learn in areas that they love learning (CTE, arts, etc.), which I have seen establish concept and propositional frameworks that can be the building point for other general life skills and core discipline.  GREAT COMMENTS TO  STIMULATE THOUGHT, THANKS!!! (Howard Bezzant)

Brian B.'s picture

definietly it is crucial to

Submitted by Brian B. (not verified) on Wed, 09/30/2009 - 7:55am.
definietly it is crucial to correct misconceptions because if you connect new knoweldge to misconceptions, then that is obviously not good. So how do you propose correcting misconceptions about math among your learners?

Disclaimer

Any opinions expressed here, except as specifically noted, are those of the individual authors or commenters and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, or Utah State University.