Blog 4

I thought this weeks readings were interesting. Especially since I was in a group last semester that did a paper on simulation labs. I will say that it is very important for the instructor to be able to see the student and vice versa. They need to be able to see all of each other. How do you know where the instructor is pointing exactly when it is on a screen??? Are your students really paying attention or are they texting during class??? You can get a lot of information out of body language. Are you boring your students?? Do you need to bring up your level of teaching (are you talking down too much or are you talking above their heads?) You can find out this information just by looking at them and assessing their body language. They talk about this in chapter 10 and refer to this as the body metaphor concept. That students and teachers need to be able to see each other, not just their faces. You need to see gestures as well. You can tell a lot about a person by looking at their hands. You can miss out on a lot of non verbal communication by only seeing the instructors face.

Bonk, ch 6 also talks about the importance of students being able to see more than the instructors face. They also need to see where the instructor is looking or point to on a presentation. He also talks about the use of mapping. Concept mapping is a way for students to put their thoughts into pictures or words. Sometimes things are better understood when we can actually see them laid out. It is also a way to see where we are missing something or if our way of thinking is flowing smoothly.

In chapter 9, I found Dewey's principles of experience very interesting. If you are around a child while they play video games, you see Dewey's theory in action. Children (or anyone for that matter) will engage in things they are interested in. When their interest gets difficult (when a level in a game gets difficult) what do we do? We will do whatever it takes to master that level. We find ways to get past the difficulties blocking us from continuing on. Whether that is going online and finding the cheats or spending 5 hours trying to figure it out and not sleeping. By being able to conquer the difficulty, that instills confidence in us all. We did it. This in itself is a way of positive reinforcement. This may also encourages thinking. Children will reason out how best to get around that stone. Option 1 didn't work so I will try option 2, etc. It teaches them how to think and reason things out. That is one of the hardest things to teach someone is how to use reasoning. Fortunately some video game developers use reasoning as part of the game.