Starting: Engineer’s Tale

It seems likely that we will want to incorporate existing Thinkerer content into the Homework section. A natural starting point is getting started. Doer’s Block is the entry topic on that. I have reworked that to make it more focused on starting. The title is now:
Doer’s Block or Starting Block http://thinkerer.org/Topics/TopicsDoersBlock.htm

I put a section on the index page: Top Topics. Doer’s block is presently in that.
http://thinkerer.org/

I also added a section called Start Buttons with suggestions for getting started:
http://thinkerer.org/HeadView/HeadStartButton.htm

The next step on this seems to be translating the Thinkerer tools into kid talk. That’s more Engineer work.

Using Current Content: Engineer’s Tale

Thinkering for parents. Thinkering for children.
Bad title? Engineers use working titles. Get some of the more creative members of the Mulling Team onto it.

The Vulcan (seeking the superset) suggested that we deal with homework in terms of life-learning skills. That is, skills that apply, not just to homework, but to any kind of learning. The Vulcan suggested the following skills.

Partial taxonomy of life-learning skills
Goal-setting.
Resource assessment.
Planning and subgoal development.
Scheduling.
Question-answering.
Getting started.
Self-confidence and Canter control.

Here are some current Thinkerer topics that seem to relate to some of these skills.

Focus. Concentration. Procrastination. Self-confidence. Motivation. Memory. Self-starting.

We can point parents to current content related to these topics. We will probably want to suggest scripts for use with children. Cuepons seem particularly promising. There might be scripts for working on a topic like memory and scripts for using a particular Cuepon.

Example: Self-starting and procrastination. Cuepons: Use the Start Buttons, pick one and follow the advice. For detailed scenarios, check with the Storyboarder. Engineers don’t tell stories. Only plans.

Taxonomies: The Vulcan’s Story

The Storyboarder recently noted that we will need a taxonomy of styles, skills, and other set designations. Vulcans, however, prefer to start with an organization in terms of objectives. Here the long-term objective is to provide suggestions that parents may use to facilitate the development of life-learning skills in their children.

Life-learning skills are general skills relevant to learning at any time (not just in school). Note that many of these skills apply beyond learning to ordinary living activities. Indeed, one could argue that the development of these skills is the main function of education. The Networker suggests that the particular content requirements merely play the role of hills and curves in a cross country race. Following is a partial taxonomy of life-learning skills as derived from the Thinkerer.

Goal-setting.
Resource assessment.
Planning and subgoal development.
Scheduling.
Question-answering.
Getting started.
Self-confidence and Canter control.
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The Empath and the Engineer point out that parents can use suggestions only if they can find them. The first rule of problem-solving is to start from where you are. That means where the parents are. We need a taxonomy that organizes the problem so that parents can easily find their way to useful solutions. Here are two taxonomies relevant to that objective.

Stage:
Starting: Assess objectives, set concrete goals (not necessarily communicated to child), develop or prepare plans at the parental level.
Starting the child:
Continuing: Details vary with content and performance goals.
Evaluatimg: Details vary with content and performance goals.
Troubleshooting, repair: Details develop from evaluation and goals/
Review: Depends on long-term objectives.
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Content and performance goals
Reproduce oral material verbatim and on cue (Poems, definitions.)
Reconstruct narrative material from memory. (Answer free form questions about the content.)
Integrate the material with previously learned material. (Answer free form questions to show the integration.)
Integrate the material with other experiences. (Answer free form questions to show the integration.)
Distinguish appropriate and inappropriate statements about content. (Multiple choice or T/F tests.)
More (TBD)
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These two taxonomies seem likely (when crossed) to support reasonably specific selection of problem conditions.

The Storyyboarder suggested “parental-powerpacks” in the form of cooperative learning scripts. Vulcan creativity call for keeping possibilities open until a choice is necessary. The above taxonomies apply to problems, not solutions. Thus they can be used with any solution. In another discussion, we will deal with taxonomies relevant to solutions.

The Explorer’s story: Web resources

A Google search on studying easily turned up the following relevant items
http://www.how-to-study.com/
This site is the work of professional educators with good credentials. It offers free advice on the following subjects:

Preparing to Study. Taking Notes in Class. Learning Styles (Assessments. Not clear what to do with them). A Strategy for Reading Textbooks. A Strategy for Reading Novels. Good Listening In Class. Solving Math Word Problems. Using Reference Sources. A Strategy for Taking Tests. Reading Comprehension. Remembering Information. Building Vocabulary. Writing a Research Paper. Making an Oral Presentation. Managing Time. Word Identification Strategy. Writing Techniques.

This advice is offered at a level suited for high school and above. It is standard advice and looks like a reasonable collection to me. Parents of younger children could use it as a resource to be translated into material appropriate for the child and the learning task.

Also on this site are computer based materials designed (and sold) for specific grade levels. Those relevant to study skills are noted below.

Upper elementary and middle school
Welcome to our study skills and strategies program for students in upper elementary and middle school (2nd Edition). The program consists of a CD-ROM Assessment, an Instructional Activities Book, and a separate Teacher's Guide. There is total correspondence between the assessment items and the instructional activities. TOGETHER, the assessment and instruction provide a complete program at a low, one-time cost!
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This unit seems mainly designed and priced for school use. 1 computer: $199. While the content is probably useful, there is no way to know whether a specific child would use it effectively. I suspect that many children would view it as just another thing to learn.
Other units: Language Arts. Learning Styles. Math. Reading.

High School
Welcome to our study skills program for High School. The program consists of a CD-ROM Assessment and a Reproducible Activity Book that provides activities for teaching the skills and strategies assessed. TOGETHER, they provide a complete program at a low, one-time cost! (1 computer: $179)
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Another useful resource on study skills is provided by Virginia Polytechnic Institute:
http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/stdyhlp.html
Here are the topics it covers: Time Scheduling Suggestions. Where Does Time Go? More Information on Time Scheduling. Acronyms. Study Skill Checklist. Concentration - Some Basic Guidelines. Control of the Study Environment. Note Taking - The Cornell System. Editing Lecture Notes. How to Read Essays You Must Analyze. Constructive Suggestions Regarding Motivation. Note Taking and In - Class Skills. Proofreading. How to Read a Difficult Book. Remembering. Skimming and Scanning Scientific Material. SQ3R - A Reading/Study System. Strategies to Use with Difficult Questions. Study Environment Analysis. Suggestions for Improving Reading Speed. Procedure for Writing a Term Paper. Vocabulary: An On Going Process. Writing Papers.
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Family education.com
http://familyeducation.com/home/0,1669,,00.html
This site offers extensive context specific resources. Contents are arranged by grad level and by subtopic. Contents include stories, games, and books. Many of the items are free. Some items are provided by other respectable organizations. For example, I found one provided by the National Science Teacher’s Association.
http://www.nsta.org/
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It seems that there are plenty of resources describing general learning techniques and presenting specific content. The descriptions of general learning techniques are not suitable for pre-teens. Indeed, they may be instruction manuals for the brain and so as useful as other instruction manuals. People who had their VCRs blinking at 1200AM may have had their brains blinking at the same time.

The metacognitive skills of the Thinkerer would generally include the learning techniques in the above materials. I did not see as much place-learning and story-learning as I would want to include.

But I would like to start with the instruction manual problem. I think the materials I saw are adequate instruction manuals. Instruction manuals tell me all the things I can do under all the circumstances I may find. But I am here, now, in this moment, in these circumstances. I must choose what to do. (And my choice is not going to be: read the instruction manual.)

I am tending toward one (or more) of the following ideas:
>>make Cuepons with relevant ideas to try;

>>make Clipits with several suggestions from people like Sally Startalittle and Paul Putitov;

>>make very short scenarios about how some schematic characters solve simple homework problems.