Drill and Kill?

There is a reason it is called "Drill and Kill". Alright, I admit; I'm not sure why it's called that, but it conjures up feelings of dread. Perhaps it is called Drill and Kill because you drill so much that it kills all joy of learning. Or maybe it is akin to beating a dead horse. At any rate, it is not a pleasant connotation. When is "drill and kill", also known as "rote memorization", a good idea? How can this be implemented in learning so as to get the best results, without the agony of it?

What sorts of things make good memorization topics?

• Math facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
• 50 United States of America *
• ...also 50 United States AND their capitols *
• The presidents of the United States *
• Geographic locations (oceans, countries, rivers, mountains)
• Dates of wars
• Key Bible verses **
• Months of the year, and how many days are in each month
• Pledge of Allegiance *
• National Songs *
• Newton's Laws of Gravity
• The first half of the Periodic Table of Elements
• Habitats (desert, tundra, rain forest, grasslands, etc.)
• Five Animal Kingdoms

This is only an example of some commonly memorized facts. * If you are not from the United States, you will have your own country's leaders, wars, and songs to remember, as well as Geographic locations. ** If you are of another faith or philosophy, then you will have a different set of writings for memorization.

Is there ever a time when you should memorize first, understand later? There may be some subjects where memorization should come first, and understanding later. There is always the child that memorizes the Pledge of Allegiance and says "invisible" instead of "indivisible". It is natural for the mind to supplant what it doesn't know and understand with those things that it does know. In most cases, it is helpful to have an understanding of the concept behind the memorization beforehand. When memorizing 2 + 2, a child may gain more in his mathwork if he understands the abstract concept of 2 + 2 first (i.e., if we have 2 apples here, and 2 apples there, and we add them together, we have 4 apples). The Pledge of Allegiance is a good example of learning by rote first, and understanding later. A child doesn't need to understand "indivisible" before repeating the allegiance in a public setting. The point is that someday, he will learn what "indivisible" means, and the a-ha moment that follows ("Ohhhh, so that's what the allegiance means! And here I always thought it was "invisible"!) One more scenario - learning rote alongside concepts may help cement the concepts better. While memorizing a list of U.S. Presidents, it may be helpful to learn their stories, too! George Washington may have more meaning to a child if she also learns that George Washington was a general in the American Revolution, and that afterwards, the country needed to come up with a government that was not based upon having a king. It might also be a good time to memorize the branches of government and understand what their role is in running the country.

Is there a way to lessen the boredom of drill, while still getting those facts memorized? Doing the same thing every day gets very, very dull. Flipping flashcards, although effective for some children, can get tedious. Using games, even silly ones, can make drill more fun. Using a Jeopardy! format and allowing kids to shout out the answers or jot it on a dry erase board might make it less tedious. If a child does well with rewards, giving a small token for each remembered item can be a bonus (m&ms, pennies, stickers, computer game/tv time). Reciting while tossing a ball or bean bag gets both mind and body moving. Setting memorization topics to music makes it easier and more paleatable. Schoolhouse Rock and Animaniacs have great tunes for memorizing songs.

Review, Review, Review We've all experienced the loss of math fact knowledge at the end of a busy summer, and the three months of catch-up that follows. If the end goal is to retain that knowledge, you'll need to come up with some method of review. Review should happen more often at first (daily), but over time, the same information might only need to be reviewed once or twice a month. The longer something is practiced, the longer it will stay in the brain - and the quicker and easier that information will be to retrieve when needed!

In review:

• Memorization can be a useful tool in Learning
• There is no shortage of things to be memorized! Whatever will make learning easier, or the things that you need to retrieve in your brain on a regular basis - these are the items to work on memorizing
• Sometimes it is better to memorize first, understand later. Optimally, you'd want your students to understand first and memorize second; however, it isn't always practical. Understanding can always come later. A third idea is to give some background knowledge along with the items being memorized, to help with understanding what you are learning and to hold the student's interest
• Memorizing doesn't have to be 100% horrible. Games, activities, rewards, and songs can make it easier to handle.
• Practice those things that you wish to retain. The longer you go without practicing, the faster the information will slip from your brain.

Levels of Knowledge

If you could group knowledge into categories, it might be something like this: no knowledge, shallow knowledge (varying levels), and deep knowledge. After many years of study, someone may reach "Expert" level.

When we teach our children, our goal is for them to gain deep knowledge in a topic. Deep knowledge gives them an in-depth understanding of the topic and the tools they need to think critically (i.e., analyze, compare, contrast, come up with new, creative ideas about the subject). It is impossible to give our students deep knowledge of everything (it would be nice, though, wouldn't it?) This means that the teacher needs to determine which topics are Deep Knowledge topics. Shallow knowledge is better than no knowledge at all; it allows the students a small background familiarity for them to build on to in their memories. With some things, aiming for shallow knowledge is enough.

Expert level is a unique category. It is a very specific set of knowledge; an expert is set apart from the rest. An expert has worked with deep knowledge for awhile and can apply his knowledge in new, inventive ways. We need an expert for his unique insight, field experience, and out-of-the-box thinking.

Here are some examples of topics:

Astronomy

Algebra

Famous Explorers

Geography

Arithmetic (adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing, fractions, & decimals)

English Grammar

Latin

Which of these topics would you aim for Deep Knowledge? Which ones would you aim for some level of exposure, or shallow knowledge? Do you know an expert in any of these fields?

Learning Styles: a relationship with information

Have you ever noticed that one thing might capture your child's attention and inspire learning, but something else doesn't? Have you ever tried to harness that thing and repeat it in your lessons? One way of looking at it is to consider your child's relationship with information. I have found the Gregorc model helpful in revealing this relationship with information. The Gregorc model breaks it down thus:

Abstract vs Concrete
Sequential vs Random

Abstract deals with Ideas, the deeper hidden meaning, while Concrete deals with the things we can see, hear, touch - the things that are tangible.

Sequential deals with order (step 1, step 2, step 3...) while Random is spontaneous; what is important right now?

These qualities come together to form 4 basic personality types: Concrete Sequential, Abstract Sequential, Abstract Random, nad Concrete Random. Of course, no one is locked solely into one personality type exclusively, and can have qualities from each one. But there is usually one that predominates.

The reason I find this so important is that it tends to define the child's relationship with his parent (as parent and as teacher), and it also defines his relationship with information. Here are two examples:

A Concrete Sequential's relationship with information is just plain facts and nothing more. No frills, no stories to draw you in. If you try to capture the attention of a CS with creative, open-ended assignments, with deep-thinking analysis, you will have one very confused student. That is not the relationship a CS has with information.

An Abstract Random, though, has a very personal relationship with information. She feels a connection with information. History isn't just facts, it's living breathing human beings! A rock isn't just a rock, but a sparkling gem or an item that holds a secret waiting to be discovered (a fossil!)

When considering your approach as a teacher, tudor, or homeschool parent, think about your student's relationship with information. When you have seen them learning, what was it that drew their focus? And why do you think that is?

Skill learning vs Content learning

As homeschool teachers, we often choose to focus on content, while sacrificing the development of skills. I've been there before: assigning the next workbook page, checkmarking it off of my list for the day, spying ahead in the book to see if we'll finish by summer. This is classic of content based teaching. What is wrong with that?

Content based learning (for the student) keeps them on target for their grade or age level. Content based learning prepares the student for any standardized testing. It also dots the i's and crosses the t's. It is the way a homeschool parent can show the judge, "see, we really are doing something every day at home". Content based assignments are easier to plan, easier to grade, and easier to track. At the end of the week, you can safely say, "we completed 5 math pages, achieved an A on the spelling test, and can underline all nouns in a sentence". In History and Science, the parent can attest that "my son has read the chapter on Columbus, and identified the difference between a solvent and solution in Science". These are not bad things.

But sometimes the parent realizes that all of these things have been gained at the expense of skills. Seventh grader Sherman spelled "United Arab Emirates" correctly on last Friday's spelling test, but consistently misspells "there", "their", and "they're" in his writing assignments. Then, Mom smacks herself on the head and says "how did I let this go so long?" (Usually this is followed by discontent with the curriculum and a search for another one. Been there, done that).

What does skill based learning look like vs content based?
The typical content based spelling curriculum looks like this:
Pre-test on Monday. Activities to practice words on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Final test on Friday. New list next Monday. The words are picked by the curriculum provider. The curriculum provider often has his own methodology or philosophy behind the words he's selected and the activities for learning them.

Skill based learning is quite different. Skill based asks - "what words do YOU (my student) need to know?" Skill based teaching determines "what sort of study skills do you need in order to learn these words?" It also strives for mastery and retention - "how can you practice so that you always spell these words correctly?"

Skill based is less concerned with output and timeframes. "We'll get there when we get there. Let's just keep working on it" might be a common phrase. You've taught skills before and seeing newly developed skills can be very exciting -
When your 5yo can tie her shoes
When your 12yo cooks an omelet
When your 6yo rides a bicycle without training wheels
When your 15yo gets his driving permit

Skill based learning can be a focus in education, too.
You're child can complete long division, but does she know when to use it in real life? Does she have reasoning skills?
You're child can read, but can he comprehend and summarize what he just read? Can he dig out the main idea, or find information that he's looking for?
She can pass the spelling test, but can she spell?

Other skill type areas to consider:
Typing, computers, test taking skills, organizational skills, accountability (turning in your papers on time in college), study skills...

Skill based learning won't be as easy to assign, and is definitely not easy to track. But gaining a new skill can have lifelong benefits.

Is Learning Fun? (Part 2)

Yesterday, I told the tale of two children. Today, I will explore how this answers the question "Is Learning Fun?"

The six year old loathed reading, which was very difficult for her. Learning was not fun, and phonics lessons was something of a chore for both the mother and the six year old. The mother kept at it and eventually, little by little, the six-turning-seven year old had developed enough skill to successfully read a Frog and Toad book. Fast forward six months later, and this same child, age seven-and-a-half, could read increasingly difficult books. She even chose to read books for her own enjoyment. What began as a horrible torture ended up becoming a wonderful pasttime. It took time and a whole lot of hard work. But once the basic skill had been mastered, it became easy...

and dare I say it....

it became fun.

What does that mean for teaching? Should the teacher doggedly stand her ground with every skill? Should learning be drudgery with the hopes that someday it won't seem so bad? What, if anything, should the mother of the six year old do to make learning enjoyable? And is this even possible?

Now, we'll look at the mother's methods a little bit closer:
First, the mother laid a great foundation for reading. She did all the typical things that are good for young pre-readers:
She read aloud to her daughter
They went to library storytime classes
The daughter saw her mother read for enjoyment
They picked out a large number of books from the library each week
They participated in summer reading programs (the mom read 30 books in one month to her daughter, as part of the pre-reader program)

Next, the mother laid the foundation of skills:
At age 3, the daughter learned her alphabet
At age 4, they watched Leap Frog videos together
At age 4 1/2, mother and daughter played with letter magnets together, and the daughter learned each phonetic sound
The mother presented a variety of games and activities for phonemic awareness

Last, the mother implemented these teaching strategies:
She gave it lots of time and patience (well, ok, not always patience...)
She mixed up practice sessons with game time, so liven it up
She watched her daughter's progress carefully, to assess if she needed a different approach or to determine if there were any learning difficulties (vision, hearing, eye tracking, dyslexia)
After she had given it some time, she tried a different approach

In conclusion, learning is fun when the student is internally motivated to learn. When a student struggles or has no desire for that particular skill, learning is not fun. Sometimes, a dreary task can be made a little more fun by mixing in some games and activities. Still, this doesn't always work to make the task fun for the student. If the teacher is mindful of the student's needs and continues in her efforts, the student may enjoy the new skill after it is mastered. The teacher needs to consider if she is truly "killing" that student's love of learning, or if a true love of learning will develop once the skill is in place.

Is Learning Fun? (Part 1)

What came first, the chicken or the egg?
If a tree falls in the forest, but no one was around to hear it, did it make a sound?
And now the next question of great importance:
Is learning fun? (Or should it be?)

I will answer it with a tale of two children.

The first child is two and she loves to climb stairs. She watches to see if the gate is open, and when it is, she makes a bee-line for the stairs and begins climbing them. Up, up, up, down, down, down. Only, she doesn't crawl up them on hands and knees, the safe way. Her tiny chubby legs put one foot in front of the other, and she scales those stairs upright. She hangs onto the wall, or the guardrail (if she can reach it). This two year old is working on a skill. She is learning to climb stairs like an adult. She works hard at it every chance she can get. She wears her mother out, who hovers, protects, and admonishes the last person who didn't close the gate. For this two year old, is learning fun? Absolutely!

The second child is six*. She knows her phonics sounds and can painstakingly sound out letters and blend those sounds into a single word. She is learning to read. Her mother brings out the phonics primer and the six year old groans. Not again! It's too hard! I don't like it. The mother tries to reason: don't you want to read books like a big kid? The six year old says "no". "Don't you know that you won't be able to make a living in this world without knowing how to read?" the mother asks. The six year old says "I don't care." The mother, exasperated, threatens "then someday you won't have a home and you will be a bum on the street because you didn't learn how to read". The six year old tells other people "I want to be a bum when I grow up, so that I don't have to learn how to read". For this six year old, is learning fun? Absolutely NOT!

So what is the difference? Why is learning fun to the two year old and not fun for the six year old? Does the mother have a responsibility to make learning fun for the six year old? So far, it doesn't look so good for the six year old. Her love of learning is being squashed, and any hope she has of finding joy in reading a good book is gone forever.

To be continued...
* this story is based on a real child, who is no longer six years old.

When learning is hard...

The premise of this site is...

You can learn anything. Repeat: "I can learn anything"
This blog is about learning. It is about teaching. We're following the Yellow Brick Road to the center of the human brain, to see the wonders that await us there.

It's not always fun. And sometimes it's hard work. But there is something wonderful waiting at the other side.
As the chart above reminds us: Nothing is too hard with the right foundation. If it seems too hard, it probably is.

Test Post

Test post on ordinary canary.