The Thought Process

This week assignment was to locate at least two resources, web sites and/or online journals, on this week’s topics: the brain and learning, information processing theory, and problem-solving methods during the learning process and comment on the value of these resources.

The two sites that I found most interesting as it pertained to this week subject matter were

The Teacher’s Personal Tour Guide to the Brain by David Sousa,  http://brainconnection.positscience.com/gen/?main=conf/nov00/sousa-int and

Information Processing Theory written by Rahul Thadani,  http://www.buzzle.com/articles/information-processing-theory.html.

The sites go in-depth as it pertains to the learning theory and how the brain processes information.  Both are easy to follow and provide additional information to this week’s lessons as it pertains to how learners define and solve problems during the learning process and how the brain functions, which often explains how people learn.

The brain and learning, information processing theory and problem-solving methods during the learning process invoked a lot of thought and although irrelevant in a sense, made me think of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

NCLB is a program which supports standards-based education, which is based on the belief that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. The Act required states to develop assessments in basic skills to be given to all students in certain grades (Wikipedia, 2011).

In the site written by Mr. Sousa, he states information is often taught in such a way that it lacks meaning for the student. Mathematics, for example, is presented as a series of equations and figures, but why these numbers and symbols are important is not explained. Yet the brain, argues Sousa, needs to attach significance to information in order to store it in long-term memory.

Students may diligently follow the teacher's instructions to perform a task repeatedly, and may even get the correct answers, but if they have not found meaning after the learning episode, there is little likelihood of long-term storage," writes Sousa.

This made me ask the question are we teaching students to test or learn.  I tried to think of my days in school and how much material did I retain say over a summer break and I can honestly say, not much.  But I can remember the words to Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven, but can remember my 9^th grade teacher Ms Wolfe Latin lessons.  Why, stairway to heaven had meaning for me, yet Latin was a dead language that I knew I would never use, so why remember.

It is my belief that these students are being taught a test to fill a square, yet are not learning, because the majority of the information will be memorized and no meaning will be attached.

Care to chime in, please do.

REFERENCES:

Wikipedia (2011) “No Child Left Behind Act”.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act

Thadini, Rahul (2009).  “Information Processing Theory”. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/information-processing-theory.html

Sousa, David (n.d.).  “The Teachers Personal Tour Guide to the Brain”.  http://brainconnection.positscience.com/gen/?main=conf/nov00/sousa-int