Learning and Emotion

In the powerpoint today (sorry it was a little late getting loaded- all up now!) I reviewed the 3 important rules for helping people to learn that Zull describes in Chapter 4. The first two: the learner must have some control and the learner must see how it matters to his/her life, are likely not new to most teachers and we have discussed both already this semester. The third rule however I think deserves some additional discussion: We must expect to encounter emotion (in learning) and we must take it seriously (p.52). How have you seen emotion in learning with your students? How do you think we as teachers take it seriously? If all learning involves emotion, how does this impact teaching?

Memorization and Fluency

Hey everybody! I am your discussion leader for the week. I am so excited to get everyone's input and opinions on memorization. In chapter 5, Zull tells an interesting story about the memory of her former student Anita. I want to get all of your opinions on memorization. These are the two articles I would like to discuss and a video to go along with them.

http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2015/02/03/math-and-the-brain-memorization-is-overrated-says-education-expert/

http://www.youcubed.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/FluencyWithoutFear-Jan-28-2015.pdf

These are some questions to guide the discussion:

1. What are your thoughts about this research?

2. Do you require students to memorize anything in your class?

3. Do you see any advantages or disadvantages in your classroom of students memorizing facts?

4. What is your opinion of timed tests and do you use them?

5. Do you see students freeze up when taking timed tests or tests where they are required to memorize facts ?