The title of this blog is a good summary of how I approach learning and education.
Curiosity and wonder are the beginning of learning. They are the spark that lights our interest and awakens a hunger inside us to understand. Without them...the flavor of whatever we are learning is more bland; harder to digest and unfulfilling.
Whether I learn with children or adults, I believe my first step is to connect with their interest and help them connect with their passions. I start with what they are naturally curious about and bridge that to what we have been asked to learn together.
I have a question; I was just thinking about you and learning today. One of my kids has a hard time memorizing things, so he struggles. But, I realized, he has no problem memorizing chess moves, history, or basketball. He has some kind of block when it comes to chemistry or languages. If he can do it in one subject, shouldn't he be able to do it in all subjects, or does it have to do with his passions?
ReplyDeleteYou are right, learning is directly related to our passions. Memorizing is a tricky thing though. Webster defines the word memorize as: “to commit to memory: learn by heart”. I have found that when we refer to information that we need to memorize, it’s because our hearts aren’t in it at all. We are unable to connect with any of our passions or natural curiosities.
ReplyDeleteMemorizing is easier when we:
• can relate to the subject,
• can see how it is relative to our life (answer the question “when am I every going to use this?”),
• have a natural interest or curiosity in the topic (passion).
If none of these are present, I search with my students to find some way to connect the subject to their lives or, if all else fails, we resort to having fun with a few memorizing “tricks”. Enjoyment while learning has the same flavor as passion.
So, your son is having trouble memorizing chemistry…if it’s the chemists and their discoveries, can you relate their work to the affect it had on what else was going on in the world at that time (history)? I would think chemists were highly involved in developing bombs and other weapons used in wars. If it is the chemical elements or equations, visualizations can help. I am happy to play around with you both and see how we can make the connections. You can either email me mguenther@playfulwisdom.com or post here on the blog.
As a side note: I teach chemistry and have found that some text books are difficult to understand. When working through confusion, I start with the source of the information. If the book is difficult to understand then we find other sources. The internet has games and tutorials for understanding concepts in chemistry. Happy hunting!
Question: as I get older, I am fascinated by how I can recollect so many details from my youth and my passions; example - I am doing a research project on the 1978-79 mens NCAA basketball season (the year Magic Johnson led MSU to the national title)... as I collect stats, I am fascinated by how I can recall so many players from teams I saw only once or twice ... remember, TV was much more limited back then when it came to sports...
ReplyDeletebut I recall these players from 78-79 much better than the players I see on a more frequent basis today...
I think it was because I was much more passionate back then...
I think the older you get, the less passionate you are about learning, and hence, your capability to learn is lessened in older years...
also, why do I love Lynyrd Skynyrd today when I disliked them in the 70s...
the capacity of the brain is poorly understood...