Experiential Learning

[Dru]

A genius for pagetops

[cracked]

Dru.

[CPOly]

So in my opinion, the "genius" comes in the ability to perform these physical acts. The number of people who actually have the ability to control their bodies with such precision is very slim. Seems to me this is about the application of the actual word "genius" as opposed to whether or not these individuals are extraordinarily talented.

[cj001f]

I would tend to disagree with you. I'm sure that there are numerous artists whom you may call genius'. Surely you see ballet as an art and not a trade. I just feel that this is a bad example comparing dancers to plumbers.

Clearly you've never seen people who are artists at their trade. Watch a good machinist sometime.

[RobBob]

Is this thread about learning, applying knowledge, or excelling in a discipline?

 

(I'll resist the urge to suggest that for a moment it was about Marylou eyeing the pliant limbs of her roommates.)

[EWolfe]

 

There certainly have been geniuses in the arts and trades that were not academically brilliant.

 

Certain trades lend themselves to creativity and skill more than others, Dru. Plumbing is not a good example unless you are so threatened by the idea that you must pull up poor examples to ensure your point.

[Off_White]

Dru said:

A genius for pagetops

 

Actually, I was eyeing your post count and thinking about that ADHD thread.

[olyclimber]

 

5 entries found for genius.

gen·ius ( P ) Pronunciation Key (jnys)

n. pl. gen·ius·es

 

Extraordinary intellectual and creative power.

A person of extraordinary intellect and talent: “One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius” (Simone de Beauvoir).

A person who has an exceptionally high intelligence quotient, typically above 140.

 

A strong natural talent, aptitude, or inclination: has a genius for choosing the right words.

One who has such a talent or inclination: a genius at diplomacy.

The prevailing spirit or distinctive character, as of a place, a person, or an era: the genius of Elizabethan England.

pl. ge·ni·i (jn-) Roman Mythology. A tutelary deity or guardian spirit of a person or place.

A person who has great influence over another.

A jinni in Muslim mythology.

 

 

Ballet dance is like climbing. A physical skill. it can be creative but I wouldnt call a skilled dancer a genius any more than I would call Chris Sharma a genius, or my plumber a genius. Maybe I'd call the ballet dancer's choreographer a genius if the dance was really amazingly good.

 

We got the message

I heard it on the airwaves

The politicians

Are now DJ's

 

The broadcast was spreading

Station to station

Like an infection

Across the nation

 

Well you know you can't stop it

When they start to play

You gotta get out the way

 

The politics of dancing

The politics of ooo feeling good

The politics of moving

Is this message understood

 

We're under the pressure

Yes we're counting on you

That what you say

Is what you do

 

It's in the papers

It's on your t.v. news

The application

It's just a point of view

 

Well you know you can't stop it

When they start to play

You gotta get out the way

 

The politics of dancing

The politics of ooo feeling good

The politics of moving

Is this message understood

 

The politics of dancing

The politics of ooo feeling good

The politics of moving

Is this message understood..

 

[sk]

So in my opinion, the "genius" comes in the ability to perform these physical acts. The number of people who actually have the ability to control their bodies with such precision is very slim. Seems to me this is about the application of the actual word "genius" as opposed to whether or not these individuals are extraordinarily talented.

isn't "genius" a talent as well? a skill you are born with an aptitude for? dancing climbing even learning... personaly I think it more impressive to learn to be good at something you do not have an aptitude for.

[minx]

just a point way back to the earlier portion of this thread. waldorf schools are great...if you can actually find one that follows the theory and implements. a lot them turn out to be the same as every other private school out there.

 

people learn differently. this is well known fact. some people learn better by listening, others learn better by seeing, others by doing. i can listen to a lecture and get nothing.if the prof writes the material down or gives me a hand out then i do much better. i do even better if i read the material and take notes or have an experiment to do.

 

activities in school like shop and art are valuable skills. i'm horrified by how little gym and music my son gets at school. it's a different type of talent to excel in these areas. experential learning can apply to all subjects. these type of classes foster less academic skills but important skills none the less. amazing how many problem skills and deductive reasoning exercises can be had in a shop class or home ec.

 

all of that said there is a difference between academic talent and other more practical talents. some people have both some people have neither. experientially learning my ass. just figure out how you can learn the skill. the experientially learning technique for reading is reading. you learn to read by doing it. the experiential technique for math is doing math problems.

[CPOly]

Clearly you've never seen people who are artists at their trade. Watch a good machinist sometime.

 

I did not mean to imply that people cannot apply themselves to their trades artistically. I agree that it can be an amazing thing to watch someone who is very skilled at what they do, whatever that may be.

[RobBob]

i can listen to a lecture and get nothing.if the prof writes the material down or gives me a hand out then i do much better

 

Hey minx, you sound like a guy!

 

I think Mr. E's bud just needed some balance in his life. Unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool academic, a life of 'not doing it/just teaching it' would drive you crazy. Getting into an in-the-moment/physical sport offered a counterbalance.

[texplorer]

Alot of good points here.

 

I think that different people learn in different ways. Most teachers out there are teachers because the "liked" school and did well in the traditional model of teaching. Therefore you have alot of teachers out there that think one way or another is the "best" way to learn. As has been said, a variety of methods are useful to varying degrees with different students and topics.

 

I agree with Ian that it is difficult to learn about certain topics experientially and some things simply require old fashioned techniques. One interesting study I saw gave a sample of college students ridelin (one of the ADD drugs) whether they needed it or not. ALL students improved their test scores and concentration. I guess there is no clear cut answer.

 

I would like to see more experiential ed in mainstream schools if nothing more than to interest the students in school and learning again in a new and different setting.

[sk]

i can listen to a lecture and get nothing.if the prof writes the material down or gives me a hand out then i do much better

 

Hey minx, you sound like a guy!

 

I think Mr. E's bud just needed some balance in his life. Unless you're a dyed-in-the-wool academic, a life of 'not doing it/just teaching it' would drive you crazy. Getting into an in-the-moment/physical sport offered a counterbalance.

I actualy learn better the way minx described

[foraker]

I'm waiting for someone to suggest the 'whole climbing' approach (a la 'whole language' and 'whole math'). Who needs to learn how to tie knots when cratering is a much better teaching tool?

[CPOly]

And yet again natural selection reigns supreme.

[Bug]

Alot of good points here.

 

One interesting study I saw gave a sample of college students ridelin (one of the ADD drugs) whether they needed it or not. ALL students improved their test scores and concentration. I guess there is no clear cut answer.

YIKES!!! Ridlin as an ADD drug for college students? Of course they did better. It's speed at that physiological developement level. Sounds like another plummer got loose.

[Dru]

chocolate has also been found to significantly boost test scores.

[cj001f]

Most teachers out there are teachers because the "liked" school and did well in the traditional model of teaching. Therefore you have alot of teachers out there that think one way or another is the "best" way to learn.

I'm not sure about the former, but the later is certainly true. Most every school district requires a minimum GPA (often >>3.0) for college material for their teaching applicants. This wonderfully excludes those who may be very intelligent, but took courses of study other than the Liberal Arts, or who may not have been stimulated by the traditional learning environment.

[Dru]

its more like if you get a degree with a high gpa in any other field of study than the liberal arts, a better paid and more enjoyable field of employment than teaching awaits you - than what i take to be your point, which is that it's easy to hold down a high gpa taking basket weaving and sociology at college.

[snoboy]

i can listen to a lecture and get nothing.if the prof writes the material down or gives me a hand out then i do much better

 

Hey minx, you sound like a guy!

 

Then I must be a chica...