The reading this week reminded me of the videos that we watched for Doug's class last fall about the graduates of the high-powered university who didn't know why the seasons changed. The article actually mentioned this video. I was also reminded of the one about the schoolgirl who couldn't believe that the eye needs light in order to see. So, I guess you could say that I had previous knowledge of this topic, and was thus able to fit the new information in.
One thing that frustrated me was the fact that the chapter completely focused on science and math. I believe that the principles being discussed were applicable to all subject matters, but mine was completely ignored. I'm getting kind of tired of that, especially since reading instruction does such a great job already of activating previous knowledge. I would never consider introducing my students to a piece of text without first making sure they were thinking about the topic, had discussed and done graphic organizers with what they already knew about the topic, and had also developed some "new" background knowledge about the topic of the text before beginning to actually read it. We already realize that students will comprehend almost nothing about a text if they do not do this. Because of the total focus on only math and science, I'm frankly not really sure of what sorts of misconceptions I might need to watch out for in my field. It would have been very helpful for me if the article had talked about this. So, I guess that's the answer to the question of how a teacher can best effectuate learning.
As to what learning is with relation to Meaningful Learning, I see some tie-ins to Cognitive Information Processing. It is vital to dig out that previous knowledge. However, in Meaningful Learning the stress is on identifying and then working to correct previous misconceptions. The article stresses the importance of the learner being motivated to do this. It seems vital that the learner be open to the possibility that they might be wrong, and willing to reject previous conceptions in order to make room for new, corrected ones. Some people certainly have a harder time doing this than others. I'm always quick to admit that I'm wrong about something, so I think that's helped me in my education to progress beyond misconceptions. It is not at all uncommon for me, even now, to realize that I've been wrong about something I've thought all along. I think it's an enlightening experience, and it doesn't bother me at all, but I believe there are those who feel that it reflects badly on them. So, ego gets in the way of learning! Students stubbornly clinging to misconceptions is a problem that teachers have a difficult time conquering.
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Certainly there are a lot of misconceptions in other academic areas. In language arts for example there are lots of misconceptions, including that poems always have to rhyme or that one is born with the ability to write well. I come from a foreign language background, so there is the common misconception that everything you want to say in one language can be translated word for word into anther. Or misconceptions about what it really means to be from another country or the bearing that one's culture or language has on his/her world view. In history there are all sorts of historical misconceptions.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem is that math and science is where the research dollars are. Faculty members have to get research funding, hence many go for science/math ed research. I do want to get back to foreign language education research eventually...after I get tenure.