EDUC105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Second-Language Acquisition, Discovery Learning, Phonics
1 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Geary’s Theory of Evolutionary Cognition
→ Variances of discovery learning/constructivist teaching methods
- Genesis from Bruner 1961
The characteristics of discovery learning:
• Vast body of information acquired without explicit or any teaching outside
educational institutions
• Easy learning to speak or recognizing faces or walking
• Difficult acquiring even less knowledge from inside educational
institutions
• Artificial inappropriate school methods?
• Use same methods as for outside learning
• There is no real empirical controlled body of evidence from empirical
research for constructivist methods after decades of research
• Most knowledge obtained from others – most taught in EI’s
• Novel info and solving problems from EI’s benefit from discovery
learning
Teacher transmission vs. discovery
• Impediment on learning (bad)
• Discover for self (good)
• Students must construct their own knowledge of the world
• Somehow ‘discovering’ equals better understanding
David Geary –
o Believed in biological primary knowledge
o Walking/speaking/recognizing
o Speaking our native language
o Believed in biological secondary knowledge
o Literacy/numeracy/tying shoelace
o Pronumerals, grammar, geography, history, science
o Second language learning
o Children learn the prodigiously complex motor movements associated with
speaking their native language with relatively little apparent strain (Sweller,
2010)
o When teaching vocal motor movements for the word school:
o Speaking for understanding a language does not need explicit
instruction
o Teaching sound/letter relationships by phonics (to read) needs explicit
instruction
Information Processing Theory; 1970s to present
o Limited capacity working memory (our consciousness)
o New (novel) information e.g. address and home phone numbers etc.
o Nature of the information that is important that distinguishes between the two
types of learning of ‘RL’ and understanding
o Learning with understanding needs large amounts of linked information
called high element interactivity information stored in long term memory
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Impediment on learning (bad: discover for self (good, students must construct their own knowledge of the world, somehow discovering" equals better understanding. David geary : believed in biological primary knowledge, walking/speaking/recognizing, speaking our native language, believed in biological secondary knowledge. Understanding does not reduce the role of working memory or the long term memory but takes up more long term memory (does not matter) which is transfereed to working memory (which does matter) Understanding is comprehending and manipulating in working memory and from long term memory. E. g. algebra, grammar, chemistry, greek high element interactivity = complex. Why do limitations of working memory disappear when processing known information from long term memory: schema of known information is one element. If we put emphasis on understanding" rather than the role of learning or discovery, we must define understanding". Our ability to understand has evolved in the same way as any other of our human functions. Geary"s bpk and bsk provides the answer.
