Natural Learning?

Re: 19 November Webinar "Natural Learning" ?

by Kathleen Zarubin -
Number of replies: 2

So pleased re own thread etc ...

Can you tell us more abut your experience with this? ... (attention re-captured rather than 'expereince' LOL - although I began my 'educator' journey as primary school teacher many many moons ago :)  

In Australia we are all very (re)focused on "LLN" in the workplace / for adults. - so much so, we have 'scholarships' / 101 courses & qauilifications 1001+ newspaper articles (the rankings are dropping the rankings are dropping - ie: The sky is falling - chicken little style) ...

.... Debates & arguements & blame game .. -  Higher Ed sector says - it is high schools fault - High school  say - it is primary school fault - & then it is family's fault ...

Our Federal Minister for Education wants "More Back to Basics" - the 3 R - & we will TEST our teachers  (that will fix it!)  ....   and while we are it BRING BACK ROTE LEARNING!  ...... and maybe even the cane - ..... (I am not sure why physical punishment seems to get chucked in when we talk about literacy ...  but it always seems to pop its head up ....  deep sigh)  ....

 

Anyway ---  I am even getting caught up in it: as in I am exploring doing a Qualification with a focus on LLN re "Adults" ....   

 

I too loved your comment ".... although I so wanted them to learn through the 'real' books approach."  

 

I am so sceptical of tests and results and % and scores ...  even though I AM now a full time 'Assessor'  but from the recognition of prior learning - 'mapped' to standards / benchmarks in a competency based framework - most of the time ... 

 

I don't know.  I *think*  a lot of my 'thinking' on and around this is still at the edge of chaos  re a 'footprint'  :) 

 

I do know this ....   any and all 'literacy'  HAS to be grounded in meaning & context & most likely some kind of 'need or desire' .... 

 

2 examples: 

a) The sentence ....   "A cat sat on the mat."  -  Could you 'teach / train' any one to 'decode' those shapes into leters then into words & then say it out loud .... ? 

Yes you can ....  BUT if you have never seen 'a cat'  have no idea of what 'a mat' is and have no comprehension of the act of  'sitting' ... 

Is it even possible for you to understand what you have read?   I don't think so ....

 

b) My adult son - LOVES 'maths'  - he has a prue maths uni degree - complete with imaginary negative numbers etc etc etc ... 

He LOVES  talking to me all about it.  I understand maybe 95% of his words ...  maybe 50 - 65% of the 'concepts'  ... about 5% of his formuals & calculations  - and probably even less than that of his 'fascination & passion'  LOL ... 

I know, because he tells me and I believe him - that his  imaginary ... (or are they called unreal ... see how much I don't remember :) )  negative numbers 'help build bridges'  (yaahhh ...)   .... but as for any comprehension of the how or why ... zero! - even though he has spent HOURS  trying to explain it to me in 101 ways ...

 

In fact he will say to me 'Mum your eyes are doing it again' - by which he means my eyes just glaze over ...  It is not that he is boring- far from it!  He is an excited great natural born 'teacher' actually & as his Mum I LOVE hearing and seeing his passion  ...   I just 'don't get it'  and more the pont I think is I have no need to make myself (?)  really understand it all

(I know enough - sort of  - to be to talk with him about his passion - but you know what I mean ) ...

So I think a need / drive / benfit must be there - and maybe it is these different levels of 'benfit' that impacts of the type of learning.  

 

Learning as an outgrowth of interest   is so very different to 'learning' to ONLY pass the test - get the tick ...  and then move on ...  :)  

 

 

 

 

 

In reply to Kathleen Zarubin

Natural Learning?

by Kathleen Zarubin -

as a side note - one of the things that did really capture me is the concept of the perfect formula which is found in so many things we find 'beautiful'  .. 

I still do not really undersntad the formula - but the fact  it is  'found' in so many things really intrigued me.  -  technically knowing this thing / theroy exisits has no real (assessable anyway :) ) value to me ... I just 'like' the idea (lol)

just 2 just found refs if anyone else is interested ... :)

http://www.goldennumber.net/ 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

 

 

(Edited by Sylvia Currie - original submission Thursday, 21 November 2013, 1:27 PM - changed subject heading)

In reply to Kathleen Zarubin

Re: Natural Learning?

by Roy Williams -

Kathleen, I have been working in the Mathematics Dept. for some years (as an elearing and e-assessment designer, and my Head of Dept's inaugural lecture was on "the unreasonable beauty of mathematics" - I can understand the beauty, but (also) not always the formulae.  

But I have dabbled in programming (via LOGO) and do know what an 'elegant' solution to a programming problem looks like, and it does bring satisfaction and joy to the learner (me in this case).