Notes from Wednesday's seminar - Dr. Rich

Convergent Cognition

Trends
1949: Our field started as a result of WWII - the education standardization movement (Ralph Tyler)
1983: "A Nation at Risk" - a back-to-basics movement
1995: TIMSS - found that the US was lagging - pushed forward No Child Left Behind
2001: ESEA
2003: PISA - another study on science & mathematics - the US wasn't as bad as we thought, but not great
2006: PISA - US had the same scores, but a lot of other countries moved ahead of us.

We're keeping the status quo, but falling behind other countries

This "back to basics" trend was meant to give everyone a fair and equal education, but the result is that it's causing schools to get rid of recess, social studies & arts, foreign languages. We're focusing on literacy & math.

3-D images: the same image from a slightly different angle. Combined, they add depth to a scene. This is like first and second languages

The Doctrine of Discipline - the idea that studying Greek or Latin increases mental acuity. In 60s and 70s, studies showed this to be true - students showed that students outperformed peers on standardized tests, learned native language faster.

Studies on sister languages showed that they improved vocabulary.

Non-sister languages: even more studies show that it helps the native language, even if it's not related to the native language at all. It's not just "no harm done" - bilingual students outperform their peers.

Perhaps we should supplement an hour of English with an hour of a foreign language.

So does this just apply to languages? What about mathematics and computer programming?

Studies (1982) showed that success in programming was correlated with mathematics experience. (2002) - even when math was placed last in the model, it still had a significant effect on success in CS courses.

2 complementary tasks help each other - just like 3-D glasses

There are conditions, though - not just any two subjects. Core attributes, applied vs. abstract, independent utility, time & maturity, all make a difference.

Steven Kraschen - The Acquisition-Learning hypothesis

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I really appreciated this seminar. I think this concept is very key, especially in a paradigm where we tend to compartmentalize and think that skills and competencies are unrelated.

I don't have any links to the literature on hand, but I know that neurobiology has been shown to back this up. Especially with situations like bilingual education and music and math. Experience in some areas tends to strengthen brain physiology and increase aptitude in others. (Not that it's linear - I imagine it's a very complex, intertwined process.)

I would like to explore interdisciplinary educational approaches even further - I'll put that next in my queue of cool stuff to read up on.