Architects of Learning

[Steven E. Patamia, Ph.D.]

This article is actually quite good.  The one concept that stands out is
that of the "whole game".  It needs refinement, but it resonates well with
my own teaching experience -- and perhaps more important -- with my own
academic experience.  It is a concept that can be scaled up or down in a
sense (games within games).

Side note, connected somewhat to the article but not directly addressed by
it: I have often observed the skill vs concept dichotomy.  When, as a
graduate student, I taught physics to undergraduates I made an obvious
discovery... the instructional staff evangelized the teaching of concepts
-- but tested the students in a way that measured acquired skills more than
acquired concepts.  When I made a point of this in an invited lecture when
my department hosted a physics teachers group, the teachers thought I was
on to something, but my own department treated me like a heretic.  I
remembered this as I was reading the article -- stimulated in an oblique
way by the whole game analogy.  So... hitting and running are skills and
playing the game provides a natural testing environment for them.  Is the
whole game a concept or set of them?  What I would see among students is
that if they were well equipped mathematically it did not guarantee they
did physics problems well -- as demonstrated by math majors in my classes
-- but they got by okay.  On the other hand, nobody who lacked a decent
mathematical skills foundation had a prayer of doing well on quizzes and
exams.  The interplay of skills and concepts is, I think, a lot more subtle
than one is tempted to believe.  Do we always know what the game is and
what skills are needed to play it?  Mathematicians are extraordinarily
clever at solving equations without a clue as to their application.
 However, physicists have often been the ones who found mathematical
representations of solutions to real problems using, to a degree, physical
reasoning that would elude mathematicians.  It sometimes works in
reverse...  Its not obvious how this works....  Anyway, I toss that out
just to see if it stimulates any follow-on ideas.

Thanks for sharing the article.

On Tue, Dec 18, 2012 at 7:23 AM, Peter Morville <
morville at semanticstudios.com> wrote:

> I've written an article centered around learning, literacy, and
> libraries...
>
>         http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000662.php
>
> ...and would be interested in your thoughts and feedback. Thanks!
>
> Peter Morville
> President, Semantic Studios
> http://semanticstudios.com/
> http://findability.org/
>
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> 2012-12-18
>



-- 
Steven E. Patamia, Ph.D., J.D.
Personal Cell: (352) 219-6592

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2012-12-19
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