Monday, February 13, 2012
WEEK SIX RESPONDING TO WHAT YOU READ
So, this week's reading was odd, but I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me, do you believe that this is true? Can children teach themselves? If so, what are the limits of that belief? If we put a group of 10 year olds in a room full of calculus textbooks will they eventually learn calculus? Use any other examples to make a case for what you believe to be true.
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I do believe that there is some truth to children teaching themselves. I think we are not only born with the ability to learn but with the ability to teach ourselves. We live in a society where children grow up being taught from others every aspect of their lives. They learn how to behave, interact, and communicate from those around them. They are also taught how and what to learn. Everything they do and how they do it are influenced by others. I think that if given an opportunity children can teach themslves, as the study in the video proved. However, I do think that there are limits to this belief. A computer can not take the place of a teacher nor does self teaching take the place of learned behavior. I'm not sure if a group of 10 year olds in a room could eventually learn calculus. That would be an interesting experiment for researcher's to explore. I do believe that we have obtained knowledge from others as well as ourselves. What I don't know is how effective and successful self teaching can be in regards to children.
ReplyDeleteYes most definitely children can and do teach themselves and others all the time. The limits to this belief are that they can’t teach how to translate these skills into other areas of life. They have a highly underdeveloped frontal lobe, used for higher thinking and thus might not be able to use those skills in other areas. If one child learns something wrong and teaches the other children the same thing they will never know it is wrong and continue the wrong behavior. Anything is possible, but I do not believe that all 10 children would learn calculus. If these children were isolated for years at a time they would have a greater chance of learning. Just like the computer example the children could understand calculus.
ReplyDeleteWow! This video was great; I definitely do believe children can teach themselves and one another to do many things, in such a diverse and advance world we see it now. We see two, three, and every other age playing with technology, my three year old niece knows how to use a cell phone and can call anyone she knows on the contact list, she has learned this on her own, my sister has contact pictures and the individuals name under it, my niece knows the persons face and name so recognizes that that contact number belongs to them, even better she recognizes the spelling and letters in each name, for my name she says “Mommy my Nina’s name is Lizet, her name starts with L” as she sounds out the letter usage and comes up with the letters in my name. I believe that many times children can teach each other better, because they relate so much more in understanding certain things. I also do believe that adults are also needed to help correct when the child is learning the wrong way, in our everyday lives when we try to learn how to assemble sometimes we have pieces left over then someone tells us this was needed to finish correctly, without their correction we would never know the differences.
ReplyDeleteI do believe this can be true because they are learning how to use a computer at their own pace. Children at a young age are very curious, and having that trait can easily learn and also make mistakes, when a mistake is done a child who is familiar with the topic can correct the problem. Children in groups usually tend to give each other feedback and by doing so, children are motivated to learn new concepts or increase their curiosity and keep playing with it until a change is seen. Likewise if a group of 10 year olds children are left with a calculus textbook, they will look for the terminology that is used in mathematics and learn the material by first knowing the terminology and put it into practice, just like the children in the video using the computer, they learned english, so then they were able to manipulate the computer however they wanted.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I believe it, children can teach themselves. Nowadays, children want to interact with other things, such as technology that is increasing in today’s world. They want to play with the phones that have games or the computers. For examples, I have a lot of boy cousins that tend to want to play with my phone when they come to my house. They ask me if they can text someone from my contact friends. So I ask them “You don’t even know how to text.” They reply, “Yes I do, and I’ll prove it.” So they take out their cell phone and start texting their friends.” I couldn’t believe it. Children are smart these days. They want to teach themselves instead of others teaching them. They have that ability to learn on their own and discover new things. Many children have a curiosity as an adult and are curious about new things. I do believe that if there is a group of 10 year olds in a room full of calculus textbooks they would learn calculus because they have that curiosity on wanting to learn something. Just as the example of technology; they are more smarter than an adult when it comes to using a computer or cell phone.
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ReplyDeleteAfter watching this video, I came out to the conclusion that children can teach themselves in particular areas. However, this auto-learning process has significant limits. In the video, we were able to see how the curiosity of the kids in India led them to explore and learn how to use the computer. In my perspective, curiosity and imitation are two of the most significant factors that take to learn how to manage new objects or behave in certain situations. For example, I have a little cousin of age of two, that loves to use the computer. He has observed the behavior of most of my family members whenever one of us is using the computer. Immediately after seeing one of us in front of the computer screen, he tries to capture our attention by jumping, shouting, and even crying until he gets to play with the computer. This curiosity of knowing how to use the computer has led him to know how to play, stop, and find different cartoon videos. Equally important, I think that by imitation children learn how to behave in certain situations. For example, whenever my family takes my little cousin to Church, the infant behaves excellent, he is quiet, he carefully observes the process of the rituals, and the movements of the attendants. This events are attributed to the fact that he is alert and curious of how to behave and act in particular situations. I believe that children are capable of learning and teaching themselves, nevertheless, I do not think that they can accomplish how to learn by themselves certain activities such as learning calculus. In order to learn advance subjects, such as calculus, or any other more challenging activity most of us tend to need an instructor. I think everyone is capable of learning by themselves, but in some activities we need an extra help/support. In short, children are capable and posses the ability to learn numerous activities independently, but their exist certain limits.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that children are able to teach themselves; I also believe that there are limitations to this type of learning. I found this video to be interesting because I have yet to read any research that focuses on children self-teaching. The children in the remote areas of India that were presented in the video were able to teach themselves how to browse the Internet in under ten minutes. It is absolutely amazing to see how if given the opportunity children can teach themselves and excel. From experiences I have noticed that young children are extremely curious and are able to learn things quickly. My one-year old goddaughter is able to play certain games on my phone just by watching her mother or myself. Although she does not understand why she is doing it, she is able to mimic our behavior. I also have a four-year-old cousin who is able to operate my phone without being told how. By a process of trial and error she has learned how to take pictures, call people as well as play games. However I do not believe that computers can ever fully take the place of a face-to-face teacher. For every ten students that are able to teach themselves there is always one child who just doesn’t get it. Not all children are visual and hands-on learners. In our society today we are constantly incorporating new technologies into daily life and some children are more computer literate than their parents simply by observing and trial and error. If a group of ten year olds were placed in a room full of calculus books for a long enough period of time I do believe that a few might be able to pick it up. Calculus is something that most people need explanation for and the proper background information in order to learn it properly. Therefore not all ten children would be able to teach themselves. Overall, I believe that children are able to teach themselves certain behaviors and skills if given the proper tools and opportunity to do so.
ReplyDeleteI like this video and I enjoyed watching it; the studies and all the data that was collected (even though it was based on small sample) are quite remarkable. It was funny when Sugata Mitra said, “a teacher that can be replaced by a machine, should be” we need teachers and I do not believe there is a replacement for a teacher. However, I believe that kids have the ability to learn by themselves to a certain level. It is pretty amazing how far kids can go, but they have the ability to recall information. They pay attention to small details and its surprising how some kids are remarkably intelligence using technology. A lot of my classmates already pointed out important points in terms of using technology and how kids learn from the surroundings. They pick up the information really fast especially the younger kids. As we saw on the video, younger kids teach older kids on how to use the computer. I have five younger siblings and I can say with all honesty that they surprise me sometimes. I would say that my 5 year old brother know how to use my phone better than me. My 8 year old sister is able to use the computer and pretty much google anything that she wants. The other day, I was watching her when she was searching for games, pictures, and she even downloaded songs. As far as I know, no one taught her how to download songs. I also believe that a group of kids can teach each other better. Kids can teach themselves to some extent, but they do not know whether it is right or wrong. If a kid is given something, he/she would play with it till something works out. It sounds more logical if we say that kids can learn instead of saying that kids can teach themselves. I do not believe that kids can teach themselves anything like calculus. I doubt the fact that a group of 10 year olds will have the ability to learn calculus all by themselves, yet, they can learn it. So it is possible for kids to understand calculus if they are being taught, but I don’t think they can learn it all by themselves; otherwise, there will no need for teachers.
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ReplyDeleteSelf-teaching happens all the time with children and I think it's amazing how their minds work. How a child learns by self- teaching I believe has many factors to take into account such as age, developmental level, how they learn (seeing, hearing, doing), and what they are learning. Though kids are able to self- teach or learn in groups with other children, I don't think they are able to learn everything that way. With some things such as morals and values require guidance from an adult. The video mentioned they tend to learn better in a group setting, but in the case of the 10 year olds learning calculus on their own is hard for me to think possible. Though I would not rule it out as impossible that the children can learn calculus in a group without a teacher, I think it depends on each individual child. We've seen on T.V. that child prodigies do exist, and if among that group of 10 year olds was even one genius, there might be a possibility that child would learn it, and be able to teach the others. I don't believe however, that ALL the children in the group would be able to actually grasp such an advance concept as calculus. I also think teachers are needed because they are who we entrust our children with each day not as a babysitter, but as someone who helps educate our children. They help teach them right from wrong at school when you cannot be there with them every minute of the day, they are who we entrust their safety with while at school, and they provide a positive learning environment. These things, we cannot replace with a computer.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is true, that children can teach or learn on their own, but of course, only to some extent. Just like as an infant, we as human being are wired to learn certain processes that enables us to survive and adapt to our surrounding. I’m not just talking about breathing, walking, and learning how to eat and what to eat, but I’m talking about children finally learning how to engage in a conversation or to use certain tools or objects. Think about it! If you never thought a child what every single word means, or how to put it in a sentence with proper grammar, they would still know how to speak it because they hear others say it. They see other people, especially adults, using these words.
ReplyDeleteFor example, in the experiment that was shown on the video where they place a computer screen and buttons through a hole in the wall. The children who are unaware and unfamiliar with what this machine can do, or what it is for, learned how to operate it. In this case, of course children can learn how to use the machine because the experimenter presented them with all the materials needed; materials that seem to be familiar to them-a monitor that resembles a television and a button. The fundamental concept in this experiment is much easier than everyone thinks. When I say this, I mean that when you present a button and a screen to a child, that child will wonder “what is this button for” because of curiosity. A simple object as a button is much easier for a child to recognize. Of course, what else is he going to do but wonder whether he or she should press it or touch it or move it, if he or she can. When the child finds out what it can do to the screen (move the arrow on the screen), then everything else goes from there.
If you present a child with simple ideas, things that a child can easily recognized, and necessary tools, I believe they will learn on their own because of the underlying mental mechanism that is hardwired in our brain as humans. However, in the case of having children learn calculus by giving them calculus books will not work due to the fact that calculus requires a higher learning process. In addition, calculus is not actually necessary knowledge for survival and adaptation. If you give children text book, they will learn other things to do with the textbook, but that does not include solving calculus problem because no part of the book that shows them what it does when they touch or play around with the book. One proper tool that must come with this book in order for children to learn calculus is a teacher.
I completely believe children have the ability to teach themselves things at a young age. This is seen in baby's who slowly learn how to walk and talk. I believe a child can adapt to their surrondings where they can learn numerous things and activities. Now I will say things like interest and knowledge may have an affect on how fast a child can teach themselves. At a young age your attention span can be short lived, but with the proer tools they can learn and adapt. As they do with everyday life situations. Children start at a young age learning how to do things by practice and observation. As for the example asking if a child can teach themselves calculus I'm sure there's been some instances where this has occurred, but that's not a normal occurrance. Math is a subject where you need to start with the basics and work your way up. But all in all I think the biggest thing is the environment the child grows up in, as well as the interests of the child. I knew I wanted to learn to be a great basketball shooter so I practiced everyday and learned step by step how to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe video for this week was very interesting, it was enjoyable to watch and I found alot of what was said to be surprising. I work at an elementary school in my small town where most of the population in spanish speaking. My school uses technology to help those students who do not know the english language and based on what I have seen in the children, I do believe that they could teach themselves. They could teach themselves and one another but I believe only to a certain point. There will be times when they do not understand something and they will need that extra assistance from a teacher. Children today always seem to impress me when it comes to technology. They know more than most adults do. So maybe with the advances we have today, it is possible that the chances of them teaching themselves is more effective. Computers today talk back so there may be a day when teacher will no longer be needed. Machines seem to do it all and children don't mind learning from them.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s true that children can teach themselves. I’m pretty sure we have all seen that there are children growing up today who grows up to learn how to use electronic devices on their own. I have seen my baby brother and cousins grow up. There are times where they would sneak into the room to turn on the computer and somehow they ended up on the web browser. Today, my brother is eight years old and he knows how to get on the laptop and get online to go to the web pages he wants to browse. Although this is true, I don’t think that we can put ten children in the room full of calculus textbooks and they will eventually learn calculus. Calculus is an advanced subject that is challenging to any people. I think that we would need a teacher to teach this subject. There are many activities that we can learn on our own; however, there are some difficult activities where we will need some help and support from others.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I am really good is programming cash registers. First I learned how to put in receipts from my dad and eventually started to program cash registers. I program registers for my dad and his bussiness friends all the time. I learned to program cash registers all by myself. I just picked up a instructor manual and followed the step by step instructions. It was easier for me to program registers because I am familiar with cash register symbols and know what type of system I am working with. I had help from technicans that would come over to fix our registers. Overtime I became pro at fixing cash registers. I learned with a little help at first and eventually did not need any help.
ReplyDeleteChildren can teach themsleves to an extent but when things get tough they ask for help. For instance, If a child does not understand a Math problem eventually he or she will ask help from the their teacher. Children can teach themsleves when they do not feel like they need help. Children can learn by themsleves through imitation. For instance, children imitate their elders when they are young and learn from their parents by watching them. If a group of kids was put in a room with calculus books I would think that they would not teach themselves instead get bored and start playing games. Some kids like math and some kids do not so I dont believe that a group full of kids would actually rather to math than to play around.
ReplyDeleteChildren are absolutely able to teach themselves, however, it is on a somewhat limited basis. I don't believe a child could pick up a book on particle physics and learn it, even given enough time. Calculus is a possibility, in that numbers are universal. The Hole in the Wall experiment did show children's natural curiousity, especially in the fact that they were interested in learning a knew language. So yes, children can teach themselves in a rudimentary way, but it would still never be as solid as an actual education from being taught by someone else.
ReplyDeleteChildren teach themselves stuff all the time. Trial and error is a large part of learning for children, and also being interactive with the objects around them. My grandmother used to run a daycare, and I would watch kids teach themselves how to do simple shapes puzzles for the first time, just by moving the pieces around until they fit. They would also watch and learn from the other kids and follow by example. Children have a simple mind, and when something interest them, they want to discover more about it. When they do discover something, they usually want to share what they discovered with other. So the chain of events continues with children teaching children and learning from each other. It was quite fascinating to see the kids learning the English language. I was surprised by that. But agean, if you have each child learning a little bit of something and then sharing it with the other, then you have a whole group dynamic where they are all learning and teaching one another. Many subjects like math and stats take previous intruction and knowledge to learn, and I don't think its likely that children who are trying to teach themselves are likely to comprehend the material. But, it is a possilibilty, because children seem to surprise me everyday about how much they can discover on their own.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, i believe the trial-and-error method is possibly the driving force for learning. As children unravel new mysteries by exploring, their curiosity leads them to become motivated.
DeleteThis was a very interesting piece on self tutelage and peer tutelage. Although to be honest its scary to think of a classroom without a teacher, I can understand the implications of a self taught alternate education in areas that don’t have access to a teacher. The problem I see in this, and in the question can ten year olds teach themselves calculus, is that in both cases we lack incentives. I have no doubt that children can teach themselves and others all sorts of things given the proper motivation. This motivation would be lacking once the newness of the situation wears off. They will be missing the carrot or the stick option that a teacher can give, or at least be greatly hindered by the lack of these tactics.
ReplyDeleteAnother concern I have with peer tutelage is that possibly of wrong information being passed on down the line, a lot like the telephone game we played as children. Somewhere down the line, a child may receive a water downed version of the truth, or worse a completely wrong fact. I don’t think the alternate education proposed would be capable of weeding out the false information’s. Even if they can be fine tuned and be designed to catch these misinformation mines, the effectiveness of peer tutelage still lies with how willing another child would be to teaching others. History is full of people hoarding something that is rare, knowledge being one of them.
The experiment performed in the video was very interesting. Based on the results of the experiments, I would say it is pretty clear kids can teach themselves with no adult supervision. In the four experiments, kids approach the computer and began exploring and experimenting with it. In the process, they learned how to navigate the internet, play games, use email and chatting, and other basic windows functions. Younger children seem to pick up on the use of technology faster then the older students. For example, in a remote village, a 6 year old boy was recorded teaching his older sister how to use the computer, a common trend in the experiment. English was the language on the computer and found not to be a barrier, even though their native language is non-english. In a village with no English teachers, children taught them selves basic, mostly mispronounced, English words they learned from the computer. It was measured to be about 200 words that the kids learned. There were no clear correlations of the learning taking place except for one. Kids, ages 6-13, can teach themselves and each other when they are in a group. Clearly showing kids can learn with out an adult and have the similar learning curb as those in a school, as measured in the experiment. Although, kids are able to learned basic functions, I don’t think a classroom full of 10 years old can teach them self calculus.
ReplyDeleteI believe that kids do teach themselves things and i do believe it is possible that 10 year old kids can teach themselves how to do calculus if left in a room with just books. I think this is possible because having that the kids already know basic math, and know how to read, they will pick up that they have to read the text books to know why they are there, and at least one ten year old will read and solve what it is telling them to do. Text books are tought in a structured way and it is easy to follow and pick up on. Kids nowadays learn from their surroundings and follow what others do, so i think if one picked up on it, all of them will.
ReplyDeleteI believe children can teach themselves anything! Theres not a limit to what our brain is capable of and the video is a testament of it. If one child is capable of learning a certain skill or technique they will be able to convey it to the rest. If a group of children were put in a room equipped with all the necessary technology to watch a movie; eg...TV, DVD player, cords, DVD's etc, i am sure they would be watching a movie before the day was over!
ReplyDeleteGroups of people can definitely teach themselves to a certain degree. In this example children taught each other how to browse the web which is a simple function to learn, yet learning a complex subject like calculus will not be an easy task. I truly believe with the technology we possess today it would be a easy for a group of people to teach themselves any subject, but no to the full capacity a professor would be able to teach. For instance, in my accounting class we currently teach ourselves everything since our professor has breathing problems and cannot talk for long periods of time. On the negative side, when it comes down to test time we struggle since we do not know what we have to prepare for, the test is a complete guessing game, and a stressful migraine. Overall, the impact of a great doctrine goes farther than any simulation on a computer or group study. Professors hold such a special attribute that can change our very own thought process which will never be replaced.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching this, I believe more than ever that kids can teach themselves! The "hole in the wall" computer proves that. These children, most who have never even seen a television before, were not only able to navigate throught out the internet browser, but eventually figured out how to learn the English language. Now, of course there are going to be limits. I think of it as you have to learn how to crawl before you can run. But I definantely think that if children know the basics, they can definantely figure out tough subjects like calculus!
ReplyDeleteI took a course on teaching adults, and the course really emphasized using faciliation to teach adults. After watching this clip, I started to ask myself, "Why don't we do this with children more often?"
Another side note, I was web browsing one day, and discovered PBS online. My five year old son has HATED practicing his colors, numbers, adding, and other pre-kindgerten materials that we have been trying to force down his throat. So I set him up on the PBS online program (which by the way has NO advertisements!!!) and he LOVES it. He has taught himself how to play the games (which are completely educational), and I have only had to help him maybe a couple of times. In fact, he is teaching himself how to use the program next to me as I type this!
Very interesting.
Children teach themselves certain things, and they can develop in many ways by exploration and experiences, but they always need motivation to do something. For example, puzzles making develops visual perception. The use of play dough, paint, and crayons develops small motor skill muscles, as well as stimulating their creativity. However, limits are reached if a child does not receive some direct instruction. For example, children can learn to read easily, but they need someone to provide the name of the letters in order to use them. Moreover, children needs explanations how to use the lesson components. The relationship between teacher and students also has an effect on the children. As the video says, children learned in the computer, paint, browser, and play video games, but they need positive human attention to thrive in their environment. I think that 10 years old children can teach themselves how to do calculus if they have a strong foundation in math otherwise they cannot able to learn by themselves.
ReplyDeleteChildren can indeed teach themselves, but I do believe there are some limits. Sugata Mitra’s Hole in the Wall project deals with a computer and the internet, and generally most use a computer or find them interesting. I remember as a child loving the computer and learned the most from the kids at my day care, but a computer and its games fascinated me. A computer gives an automatic sense of reward when one sees they can move their finger or mouse and get a reaction on the screen. I do not believe that a group of 10 year olds could be put in a room with a calculus book and learn calculus. Calculus doesn’t give that quick sense of reward, is based on many pre-requisite math, and generally is thought boring. A computer could intrigue the mathematical brain and creative brain
ReplyDeleteI have been working with children for six years, and I have observed how student self- teaching occurs all the time. I’m a Psychology major and learned the Social Learning theory, by Albert Bandura. This theory suggests that people learn within a social context from one another, including concepts as observational learning, imitation, and modeling. Having the opportunity to work in a classroom with special education students between ages three through five has helped me observe how children will learn everything through imitation like walking, talking, tying shoes, and toilet training. In occasions we get new students who are Spanish only speaking students, and it is amazing to see how fast they pick up English by imitating their classmates. I have learned that children do most of their learning through play time while they communicate with other children and adults. I believe that children can learn anything if the right emotions are triggered, like curiosity of learn something new which makes them more likely to take the challenge in learning something new. “The whole in the wall,” is a good example because the computer screen was not placed in a classroom with rules, rather in a play area. Do I believe that ten year olds can teach each other calculus? I believe that children need someone who they can imitate. If one of these ten children knew calculus, then I do believe that this child could teach calculus to the remaining nine children. Kids have pride and they don’t like to be seen as a fool, so this would trigger the emotion of curiosity to learn and would be willing to learn calculus because they do not want to be the one that does not know calculus.
ReplyDeleteExcellent video! Must i say, It left me dumbfounded. Our minds are elastic. Meaning, new connections form and old connections break. As research has demonstrated, children can learn a new language much faster than adult. By taking this theory into consideration, placing a classroom filled with children and a few calculus books . . there's a possibility that these children might learn calculus. However, I think though that the kids would lack motivation. Without motivation, they will NOT learn the subject as they would find it "boring." I think that by placing a group of kids in a classroom with textbooks. The driving force must be motivation!
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe children have the ability to teach themselves, but I believe there are limitations to to what they can teach themselves. Children are proven to learn certain behaviors through observation, which is why I believe they can teach themselves certain things. However, I question their ability to learn calculus if they are given calculus textbooks. I believe a big part of learning involves asking questions and receiving feedback, so in cases where children would be expected to learn calculus through just textbooks seems a little far fetched. They can definitely learn through hard work and determination, but I question their ability to do it on their own.
ReplyDeleteSo, this week's reading was odd, but I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me, do you believe that this is true? Can children teach themselves? If so, what are the limits of that belief? If we put a group of 10 year olds in a room full of calculus textbooks will they eventually learn calculus? Use any other examples to make a case for what you believe to be true.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoyed this week's "reading". I found this video astonishing and believe that the peers of children will teach them more about life than a classroom or parent ever will. I am a child development (CAFS-Child, Adult, Family Studies)) minor and have learned many interesting things about children and their learning styles. Unfortunately, to every positive thing we observe with children teaching children, there are apparent negative things that peers teach one another, sex, drugs, etc. I found it interesting how the children will tell the other children how to use the computer. I remember telling my older brothers what to do when we played Atari or Nintendo, even though they were better than me. I am not sure if there are any limits to the belief of children teaching one another. I am not absolutely positive that children can teach each other calculus but I do believe that they would try or pretend. Being the mother of a fourteen year old girl, I definitely have observed bad habits that my child has picked up from other children, habits that I have never done in my life. Thank you Dr. S! I really enjoyed this presentation. It was very interesting. :)