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That is a fascinating paper referred to in the blog post. I teach introductory chemistry, and for a long time, I've felt that there are students who are just i

by busyant 13y ago

That is a fascinating paper referred to in the blog post. I teach introductory chemistry, and for a long time, I've felt that there are students who are just incapable of making relatively simple mental models of the concepts that we discuss. To give an example, there are students who don't have a mental model of what density is. I imagine that most people here have a good grasp of density and each of us has some mental model where the 'matter' in dense materials is "tightly packed" when compared to less dense materials. This isn't a perfect mental model, but it's reasonably accurate. The students who don't/can't make these models view the entire course as a collection of arbitrary formulas that make absolutely no sense and require painstaking memorization. As a rule, they do poorly, unless they are exceptionally good at memorizing.

kirse 13y ago
I've felt that there are students who are just incapable of making relatively simple mental models of the concepts that we discuss. Just because this seems to be the case, I would only ask that you don't let this become a limiting belief that you project on your "incapable" students. I only say so because I know I've taken various courses over the years (HS or college) where that sort of analogous big-picture communication you're talking about didn't really click for a few months or even years. When one is overwhelmed - or at least feeling overwhelmed - with the volume of new fundamental concepts to be grasped, it's akin to having 1,000 jigsaw pieces dumped on your coffee table. Oh and by the way, we're going to apply time pressure and grade you on your ability to figure out the big picture. In that case, learning can turn into a fear-based "tread water because I'm drowning" activity where rote memorization is the fallback tool to get the learner to shore alive. The outcome is no longer the joy of understanding and meditating on those analogies/models to get the fundamentals to click, but trying to avoid death (err, a failing grade). It wasn't until I revisited those certain topics later without the time-sensitive pressure of exams/grades that the broader models for understanding would "click" and all those rotely memorized fundamentals would fall into place - which is an indescribable joy. So while your incapable students may not seem to grasp the big picture now, it's likely you are still making a difference by implanting those fundamentals which will snap together later on in life.
- busyant 13y ago
  You make a fair point and my generalization was certainly too sweeping. One of the things that I tell my students is that sometimes, if they stick around long enough, things will make sense. That being said, I'm still at a loss on how to help the students who aren't making mental models that (to me) seem relatively fundamental. I try to use visuals and videos when applicable and when possible, but I would use other approaches if I could think of something that would be helpful. Finally, I think/speculate there is a continuum of skill with mental model building. When I was a postdoc, I worked with people who had deep mental models of statistical mechanics that I just didn't have. So...I know what it feels like, but I don't know how to fix it.

by busyant 13y ago

kirse 13y ago

I've felt that there are students who are just incapable of making relatively simple mental models of the concepts that we discuss. Just because this seems to be the case, I would only ask that you don't let this become a limiting belief that you project on your "incapable" students. I only say so because I know I've taken various courses over the years (HS or college) where that sort of analogous big-picture communication you're talking about didn't really click for a few months or even years. When one is overwhelmed - or at least feeling overwhelmed - with the volume of new fundamental concepts to be grasped, it's akin to having 1,000 jigsaw pieces dumped on your coffee table. Oh and by the way, we're going to apply time pressure and grade you on your ability to figure out the big picture. In that case, learning can turn into a fear-based "tread water because I'm drowning" activity where rote memorization is the fallback tool to get the learner to shore alive. The outcome is no longer the joy of understanding and meditating on those analogies/models to get the fundamentals to click, but trying to avoid death (err, a failing grade). It wasn't until I revisited those certain topics later without the time-sensitive pressure of exams/grades that the broader models for understanding would "click" and all those rotely memorized fundamentals would fall into place - which is an indescribable joy. So while your incapable students may not seem to grasp the big picture now, it's likely you are still making a difference by implanting those fundamentals which will snap together later on in life.

busyant 13y ago
You make a fair point and my generalization was certainly too sweeping. One of the things that I tell my students is that sometimes, if they stick around long enough, things will make sense. That being said, I'm still at a loss on how to help the students who aren't making mental models that (to me) seem relatively fundamental. I try to use visuals and videos when applicable and when possible, but I would use other approaches if I could think of something that would be helpful. Finally, I think/speculate there is a continuum of skill with mental model building. When I was a postdoc, I worked with people who had deep mental models of statistical mechanics that I just didn't have. So...I know what it feels like, but I don't know how to fix it.