I'm fascinated by how we learn things. What is the best way to learn something? I am currently working on a project with a publisher on using video games to help students at the college-level learn.
But, beyond the game-based learning, I am intrigued by how all the different ways of presenting information can help or hinder learning. Given my upcoming trip to Italy next month, I decided to borrow some "Learn Italian" CDs from the public library. They all take completely different approaches to teaching the language.
The first one essentially presented a series of conversations in Italian. You listen to it and are completely lost. Then, they break down the conversations and explain the key words and phrases in the conversation. Finally, they play the conversation again. This time, you can pick up the gist fo what they're saying and it leads to a gratifying feeling of achievement and actually having gained something.
The second one presented the grammar and structure of the Italian language and tried to teach the language by explaining how sentences are constructed in Italian. This clarified some of the phrases that didn't make sense in the first set of CDs.
The third one essentially is a passive approach to learning. The instructor on the CD explicitly tells you to learn by listening and not to make any effort at learning the language. Very interesting approach. The CDs are essentially like a live taping of him teaching two students the language by starting with small phrases and then building it up and expecting the students to then use what they've learned to speak out loud.
All three approaches have strengths and weaknesses and I'm intrigued to see if there is some combination that is particularly magical. I think the method needed to understand the language may be different than the one needed to speak the language.
All very interesting and thought-provoking in the context of how I teach my college students.
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