Models of Learning

I shared these two versions with a class recently. I'm sure you can guess which model better matches their perception of what is supposed to be going on in the classroom.

Model 1 

"Mr Jones know loads of maths. His job is to transmit some of the stuff he knows to me, so I can use it in my life, my further studies and the exam at the end of S4."

Model 2

"Mr Jones has a version of maths in his head, that he has created over the years, in response to teaching, reading, activities he has undertaken etc. I also have a version of maths in my head, which I have been building since I was born. Mr Jones's job is to provide me with experiences and feedback that will help me to construct a bigger, better version of maths in my head."

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Learning styles are a myth and I am not an auditory learner

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I switched on Radio 6 this morning, and the track they were playing had a drum sound which caught my ear. It reminded me of a rototom - a tuned drum which was quite popular in the 80s. I had a set of three in my drum kit.



I doubt many listeners would have made that connection. I suspect many listeners would not even have particularly distinguished that drum sound. I think many people just hear songs in a much less differentiated way, unless they make a real effort. I, like most musicians, tend to hear the guitar, the drums, the bass, the keyboard and the vocals separately.

In other words, I am extracting more information from the audio than some might.

It would be tempting to imagine, therefore, that I would learn better through hearing than through other senses. But that is nonsense. Imagine trying to learn about the physical geography of a country through hearing about it without a map!

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Sacrifice and Memory

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He offers an analysis of how ritual sacrifice arose in societies, which I find fascinating and utterly convincing. His contention is that it arose after our ancestors developed the capacity to think about the future, and therefore began to realise that delaying gratification could deliver longer term benefits. In other words, that sacrificing something of value in the present could lead to good things in the future. Having discovered this, it is a small step to imagine that sacrificing something of value, like a goat, might also lead to good things happening in the future.

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