Mensa-itis: memorizing vs understanding, part 2

Memorizing vs understanding. Learning is about building models in your head and then validating those models.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• memorizing
• understanding
• mensa
• model
• education
• creationists

[miketacoma5]

A model of self-discipline

[TheRavingRandomist]

it's the Feynman method

and it's proven to work for

at least really smart kids!

.

the Sokrates method was

to always be right in the end

(his pupils had to follow his

secrete script and were mere

props to let look him good)

[army2k08]

Theory is one thing, application is quite another. I've seen it play out many times and in different ways.

[NinjaRunningWild]

I like this guy's parenting method. He creates strength in his kids by forcing them to learn to earn things themselves. Too bad there's not more parents like this.

[andrewf128]

I suppose this sort of reasoning is part of the explanation for why small class sizes are regularly found to be vastly superior to students learning. (I know from experience in university that the times that I have learned most are small group tutorials, in fact I have often found that one good tutorial can be just as good as 4 or 5 lectures)

[usesomelogic]

andrew, there's a better way. If you watch a student's reactions and really listen to what questions s/he has, you'll know how to interpose correctly and s/he will retain what they learn and how they learned it.

If you're trying to interest someone in the learning process, it's simply a matter of determining his or her learning style and unlocking the mechanisms that govern their particular intellect. It just takes your conscientiousness and a bit of creativity for his/her success.

[andrewf128]

but then 'making them work hard to find an answer' is a way of giving them the tools. working through a problem to get an answer helps you develop your logic and problem solving skills, it takes longer but you benefit more from the experience than when someone just walks you through an answer

[usesomelogic]

How about a philosophy that sez smart people should help others be that way?

Teaching people how to think and logic is a lot more important than "making them work hard to find an answer". Make it easy by giving them the tools, then they can approach anything without the time/effort it would otherwise take.

Some people helped me; dunno if they even realized what they did or maybe they were just clever, using inconspicuous methods to impart their problem-solving skills and creative methods.

[Tazwegian]

What philosophy would you bring?