UCSD Extension SUMMER PROJECT – Math|Science Olympics

___ EDIT the FORMATTING! for BLOG…

UCSD 21st Century “Learning Zone (“I.T. Creativity”) vs. Traditional Classroom

“Show the children excellence the first day, give them the material, the time, and the coaching
they need to achieve it, then get out of their way. You will become an aid in their natural desire to increase their powers—rather than Mr. or Ms. “Makework”— and their performance and capacity for hard work will amaze you.”

Math & Science Olympics (Active Learning Design™) vs. Traditional Classroom
1. What Children Do In Class
Affect on Children & Teacher	IT Creativity <–Classroom	Traditional Classroom–>	Affect on Children & Teacher
Children Work Teacher Coaches Student “Players,” Improving Their “Game.”	Children & Learning Goals in Center	Teacher in Center	Children Listen Teacher (the “fount of all knowledge”) Talks
Children are Active Children Soon Take Responsibility for Finishing “Their” Projects Children are Independent Learners & Workers Teacher is Freed to Coach	Children Shown the Entire Prepared Path to Excellence on Day One: Linked Project “Trees”: Clear Goals: Visual Learning Path Choice: Order, Difficulty, Optional Projects Clear, Timely Feedback: Project Checklists, Orals Next Challenge Always Waiting: Extra Credit, Progressive Projects Meaningful Work: real-world power	Children Wait to be Told What Comes Next; Work seems Disconnected: Isolated Assignments	Children Passive Children Often Restless Work Often Appears to be “Makework” Leading Nowhere Teacher Uses time & Energy to Keep Children in their Seats & “On-task.”
Children Receive a Great Deal of Face to Face Time with an Adult— Individualized Instruction. Children Learn from Their Teacher-Coach	Teachers Spend Most of Class time Talking to Groups of Six Children or Less	Teachers Spend Most of Class time talking to Entire Class	Children Spend (On Average) 5 min.s per day talking one-on-one with an Adult. Children Receive Little Individualized Instruction. Children Learn from Peers & Media
Children gain collaboration and communication skills Research Shows “Thinking Out Loud” While Working Helps Children Join Concrete to Abstract	Children Talk to Other Students as They Work On Project-Challenges in Group	Children Sit Silently as They Listen and Watch	Children Miss Chance to Learn Collaboration Skills. Children have no Chance in school to Develop their Problem-Solving “Inner voice”.
Problem Solvers	Children Discover Solutions Themselves	Children Are Told the “Right” Answer	Memorizers

2. Teaching Methods and Tools
Affect on Children & Teacher	IT Creativity <–Classroom	Traditional Classroom–>	Affect on Children & Teacher
Children gain an intuitive understanding of abstract concepts	Children Always Begin with the Concrete, then Move to the Abstract & Symbolic	Children Often Receive an Abstract & Symbolic Introduction to Topics	Children often never really understand abstractions like place value or negative number
Children gain physical intuition about scientific, engineering, and mathematical concepts	Most Activities are Hands-on “The hand is the instrument of the intellect.”	Most Activities are Paper & Pencil.	Children develop little physical intuition about math and science concepts
Children Practice Core IT Concepts & Skills Over & Over— And are Never Given a Chance to Forget Children Master Difficult Concepts in a Series of Small Conquests	All Work is Linked Together in Step-by-Step Progression: From Concrete to Abstract From Fundamental to Complex From Easier to More Difficult
Children See the Point of the Work: Earlier Project Success Leads to Success on Current Project	Skills & Concepts from Earlier Projects Used to Complete of Later Projects	Skills & Concepts From One Unit or Textbook Chapter Are Sometimes Not Seen Again for Months	Children Forget old work while learning new Children Often Fail to See the Point of the Work
With Mind Tools like Roamer™ Children Can Explore Their Environment Creatively, Testing and Refining Concepts as They Go Roamer’s behavior is the direct result of the children’s actions. Children are encouraged to learn more and more (programming, mathematics, science): they see their increasing power reflected in the new “tricks” they can teach Roamer™ as they learn	IT TEACHING TOOLS:(Levels 1-5)Roamer™ Programmable Robot: (mutli-use: a concrete introduction to logic, mathematics, science, and many other subjects*)

Math Manipulatives:

(Level 3-5)

One PC Computer +
Software for Modeling and Solving Roamer™ Programming ProblemsMaterials for
Constructing:Electricity and Electronics
Devices, Sensors, Robotics, and Motors

TRADITIONAL TOOLS:Textbooks &
Handouts; Paper & Pencil; Computers & “Edu-cational” Software; Manufactured
“Hands-on” Educational Devices:

(Limited to rigid or prescribed uses or behaviors;
mysterious “Black Boxes” which children are given to play with or learn from
but which they do not understand

Few Chances for Creative Problem-Solving or
Exploration
School must buy many special use materials.
Children are passive
before the invisible programmer: they click icons instead of learning logic
and math; or instead of increasing their vocabulary by mastering new concepts
Children have little
long term interest in and learn little from these “educational” toys .

3. Assessment
Affect on Children & Teacher	IT Creativity <–Classroom	Traditional Classroom–>	Affect on Children & Teacher
Children See Their Increasing Power Growing With Every Project Passed as They “Climb the Tree” They get immediate feedback (coaching) on errors and can go right to work correcting them	Feedback is Integrated, Visual (Project Tree), & Timely (In-Class Orals) (As Children Pass Each Project They Earn the Right to Color Its Box)	Feedback is Piecemeal, Abstract (82, 91, 89, 94), and Often Delayed Report Card Science- 91 English- 89 History- 82 Math- 94	Children Wait Till Assignments are Returned or Until They Receive A Report Card to Learn of Their Success or Failure
Children try again and again until they achieve real, age-appropriate competence & skill	Children Take Pass/Try Again Oral Exams on Every Project (And, Beginning in Level 2, Written Exams after Every Project Tree)	Children Receive “Exact” Grades on Work, Then Move on to the Next Assignment	Grading puts an end to learning. Children often Move on to Despite Failure
Children Try to Meet Standards of Excellence Children begin to judge their own work (Critical Thinking): Is it ready to present for an Oral Exam? Have I met all the standards—and gone beyond (for extra credit)?	Criteria for Project Credit are Clear, Publicly Posted. Demonstrate Success Pass Oral Exit Exam Record Results	Grading is Subjective, Often Mysterious: inside the Teacher’s Head	Children Try to Please Teacher Teacher Does the Grading and Judging of All Work

4. Student Achievement
Affect on Children & Teacher	IT Creativity <–Classroom	Traditional Classroom–>	Affect on Children & Teacher
All chilren master basic IT Learning Skills. Each has the opportunity to blossom (use the skills) in a unique way	All Children Master Core Concepts & Skills (Mathematical-Logical & Linguistic); Individual Children Choose Their Own Projet Tree Branches Based On Unique Talents (Artistic, Musical, Mathematical, Etc.) “Many Paths to Beauty”	All Children Do the Same Work (Heavy Emphasis on Mathematical-Logical & Linguistic Skills in Traditional Curriculum)	Many (non mathematical-linguistic) talents are wasted, discouraged.
Quickest Children Never Have to Wait for Class to Catch Up By Their Presence, Example, & Peer-Teaching, The Best Students Pull the Average Student Higher Up the Tree Behind Them Excitement, Exploration, Constant New Challenges; Cooperation & Helping Classmates	The Best Students Climb Highest Up the Tree	The Best Students Wait for Others to Finish—or Are Separated into “Gifted” Classes	Frustration, Boredom—or the Creation of “Smart vs. Dumb” Classes.
Students Complete More Work Than Traditional Schedule Allows; Explore More Areas Than Traditional Curriculum All Students Are Stretched and Enabled to Develop to Their Potential.	Thinks “Outside the Box”: With Optional Projects Teacher Can Set Difficult Goals For the Best or Most Motivated Students to Complete Outside of Scheduled Class Time AND Outside of Teacher Competence E.g: Optional Music Projects: A Teacher with no musical talent can still set musical goals:—“Compose a Tune”—& Reward Children who achieve them.	Limited By Schedule & Teacher’s Special Knowledge & Skills	Students Rarely Complete the Scheduled Goals; Students Find No Outlet for Unique Talents (except in Specialty Classes—Music, Art—where these exist)
5. Preparation/ Record Keeping
Affect on Children & Teacher	IT Creativity <–Classroom	Traditional Classroom–>	Affect on Children & Teacher
Teacher is Confident, Prepared; Free to Concentrate on real job: coaching students to improve their understanding & performance ….lift their achievement of the prepared standards/further along path.	Most Teacher Preparation Done in Summer: Every Project is Scheduled on the Academic Calendar, With a Begin Date (Teacher Gives Project Demo) & “Due” Date (Teacher Begins Giving Oral Exams) Set All Materials are in place All Oral Exam Checklists & Written Exams are Ready Quick, Visual Grading Record System is In Place	Lesson Planning is often done as the year goes by.	Teacher feels rushed for time, overworked, harassed
Teacher Has Time to Concentrate on Perfecting Demonstrations & On Thinking About How to Get the Most Out of Individual Students	Most Grading Done In-Class (except for some written optional projects & the periodic written exams)	Much of Grading is Done After School	Teacher’s Time & Energy Spent in the Drudgery of Checking Handouts and Tests instead of Becoming a Better Coach
6. Summary
Affect on Children & Teacher	IT Creativity<–Classroom	TraditionalClassroom–>	Affect on Children & Teacher
Children become enthusiastic lifelong IT learners—confident problem solvers able to survive & thrive in rapidly evolving Information Technology Societies	Child is Given Both Creative Freedom AND IT Learning Skills (Freedom & Rigor)	Children Required to Follow a Rigid Academic Schedule & Script.	Children often become alienated from school and lose their natural love of learning.
Teacher: Exhilaration, Satisfaction, Invigoration:“Another Good Day of 100% Learning—I Could Barely Keep Up With the Kids Today.”	Teacher is Allowed to be an Enabler	Teacher is Often Forced to Be a Controller	Teacher Often Feels Fatique & Tension; Often Experiences Days of Uneven Success: 1 good hour of work, 2 bad, 2 good, 1 bad, etc; Often feels Dissatisfaction.

* For more on the powerful teaching qualities
of the Roamer™ robot, see Appendix A: “Pedagogical Advantages of Roamer™”

“This is what we believe focused math education does: It sharpens the firing of these quantity neurons,” said Stanislas Dehaene, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Collège de France in Paris and author of the books “The Number Sense” and “Reading and the Brain.” The firing of the number neurons becomes increasingly more selective to single quantities, he said; and these cells apparently begin to communicate with neurons across the brain in language areas, connecting precise quantities to words: “two,” “ten,” “five.”

via Brain Power – Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them – Series – NYTimes.com.

A similar honing process is thought to occur when young children begin to link letter shapes and their associated sounds. Cells in the visual cortex wired to recognize shapes specialize in recognizing letters; these cells communicate with neurons in the auditory cortex as the letters are associated with sounds.

The process may take longer to develop than many assume. A study published in March by neuroscientists at Maastricht University in the Netherlands suggested that the brain does not fully fuse letters and sounds until about age 11.

Math & Science Olympics (Active Learning Design™) vs. Traditional Classroom

1. What Children Do In Class

Affect on Children & Teacher

IT Creativity <–Classroom

Traditional Classroom–>

Affect on Children & Teacher

2. Teaching Methods and Tools

Affect on Children & Teacher

IT Creativity <–Classroom

Traditional Classroom–>

Affect on Children & Teacher

3. Assessment

Affect on Children & Teacher

IT Creativity <–Classroom

Traditional Classroom–>

Affect on Children & Teacher

Children Take

4. Student Achievement

Affect on Children & Teacher

IT Creativity <–Classroom

Traditional Classroom–>

Affect on Children & Teacher

5. Preparation/ Record Keeping

Affect on Children & Teacher

IT Creativity <–Classroom

Traditional Classroom–>

Affect on Children & Teacher

6. Summary

Affect on Children & Teacher

IT Creativity<–Classroom

TraditionalClassroom–>

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