This week I read the second article written by
Smith, King, and Hoyte, Learning Angles through Movement: Critical Actions for
Developing Understanding in an Embodied Activity. The Kinect design is awesome,
which is similar to a project that helps student visualize the relationships
among line, line segment, and their 2D equations.
But this is not the only thing I thought during the
reading. When I saw the graph (Fig 3, p. 101) showing the improvements in
percentage correct rate of the test, I could not stop but asking myself two questions:
(1) is it possible that these students may perform similar or better in the
test after taking a normal lecture about angle? And (2) by visualizing these
math concepts, are we helping our students prepare for their future?
I understand the second question is a bit strange. It
comes from a recent discussion between my cousin and I. I try to convince him
that he needs to read more books instead of playing games and watching videos,
while he tries to convince me that since watching videos and seeing things are
more efficient ways of learning, it is unnecessary for him to read books at
this time. And by the way, he is in Grade Six right now.
It seems impossible in the short run to develop
technologies that can directly input information into human brains, so the fact
that reading is the main learning method may not be changed in the short run. However,
the daily-updated technologies do provide approaches for students to learn
things “faster, more efficiently, and more accurately” (by Kevin, LOL). Then the
mismatches here inevitably occur.
So far, learning through doing/acting is still a
non-main-stream learning approach. Not only because of the developing
technologies, but also its internally conflicted nature to the main-stream
learning style. Well, we can also say that the main-stream style is limited by
technology, but overly using technologies in learning may not be a good
solution to teach students. However, it also depends on the things that
students learn. It is also true that students may benefit from learning the
technology used in the learning process.
Shan, I would like to differ from your statement on reading as the main mode of learning. First, there are many people, including myself and visually challenged individuals, who prefer listening, watching, or interacting with the learning materials to learn (whatever that may mean). Second, we often forget the generational gap when it comes to learning. Chances are we were forced to memorize materials, through reading countless times, in order to learn. I hope that we are out of that era now. Last, I would like to think that information passes through our brains whether we like it or not. But, it is fascinating how our brain filter out a lot of the junk. I wonder if there are better mechanisms to filter out the "surface features" inherent in many mathematical problems. "Surface features" are often the ones that gets in the way for many learners.
回复删除I read the same article. It is often exciting to see alternative methods for teaching math. Whether or not a sensory motor learning approach will be accepted for classroom practices depends on many factors, such as teachers' support, available resources, public opinions and so on. I do see a potential concern about the use of a Kinect-based activity as it might cause classroom management issues. Nonetheless, this technique can benefit some students who find it easier to visualize and understand math concepts through physical movements.
回复删除I find it interesting that we often associate using technology with being sedentary. However in this study, it is used to encourage students to move and learn a mathematical concept. In one of the papers that I read for our short paper, it discussed how student use of technology usually only works to teach a mathematical concept if the student is confident and motivated to use the technology. I wonder if a student is not comfortable with physical movement if this would hamper their learning. Due to the minimal amount of movement required, I doubt that this would be an issue.
回复删除I also appreciate how the study uses a Kinect as it would definite connect (no pun intended) with the students as it is used in video gaming. So many students are fully immersed in technology, and thus have gained confidence in using it, that we should be figuring out how to capitalize on this affinity to technology. As always, with any educational tools, we do need to be careful that we do not become too dependent on it. We should attempt to use it as a supplementary tool, not a replacement for all other learning styles.