by Mona Pellerin

Created on: August 03, 2008   Last Updated: January 12, 2012

As a program developer for academic summer camps at a community college, I used college professors as instructors. During a meeting of public school teachers and the observations of the instructors in the classroom, the most noted problem in the learning process is the inability of children to generalize information. Given one problem to solve and then given a new problem, particularly in math word problems, they could not see that the concept was the same, so they were beginning again as if the problem was different from the first just because new numbers were used.

One math professor who was noted for teaching effectiveness in the college system countered this problem with a conceptual approach. First, he provided a strong emphasis on math vocabulary whereby the student would first discover the words that guided the process: more, less than, some of, plus, minus, percent, etc. Then, they were to proclaim whether the problem required addition, subtraction, division or multiplication. Then, they were asked to plug in the numbers of the problem. Finally, some went to the blackboard and recited out loud, the process they used to come to their solutions. Students were allowed to assist.

The idea was to develop critical thinking, whereby a student could develop an individual process of problem-solving. This strategy adds text to the problem-solving experience and assists in the generalization of learning as the student asks: "What problem do I have, what am I trying to solve, what information is available to me?"

As the student develops his own thinking capacities, he/she can generalize to other courses or life situations and will be better at crunching information into a manageable format. This is far superior to rote memory from lectured information which can come as a "bundle of noise" to the student. Another strategy that assists students in managing information is to narrow the scope of information at a given time period. For example: During a history lesson or even a hands-on project, first, explain the concept such as: "We are going to learn why our government is based on the division of powers"; or, "We will learn the importance of voluntary system in our bodies". Given a simplistic scope with possibilities for inquiry allows children to think out a concept and may draw in more information from their questions? Either of these concepts could be accentuated with simple experiments such as a political debate or imagining how cumbersome it would be if you had to think about breathing or sensory experiences before any of it would occur.

Since the latest research on the meaning of IQ places emphasis on brain and emotional processes and not just a test of known information and involves being able to deduct information to a simple form, we surely need to teach children how to think for themselves.

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