How Humans Learn

This video has really shaped my priorities as a teacher. It starts off with students on graduation day in cap and gown from MIT who cannot complete a circuit and light a light bulb. If they were graduating with degrees in French or Dance it might not be as shocking, but these students are engineers from the best school in the nation. Why is this happening? The film investigates further.

http://www.learner.org/vod/vod_window.html?pid=76
Video Description: Why don't even the brightest students truly grasp simple science concepts? These video programs pick up on the questions asked in the Private Universe documentary and further explore how children learn. Based on recent research, as well as the pioneering work of Piaget and others, Minds of Our Own shows that many of the things we assume about how children learn are simply not true. For educators and parents, these programs bring new insight to debates about education reform."

 

 

Big ideas I try to keep in mind after watching this

• Just because we "covered" something DOES NOT mean anyone learned it
• Learning the process of learning is crucial. If I help someone understand how they learn I allow them to learn whatever they want for the rest of their lives
• I do not have the power to change another persons mind, they must change their own mind. I CAN try to provide time and experience in which an individual can confront their own misconceptions
• Just because someone can say all the right words doesn't mean they actually know what those words mean