understanding

I had two experiences today that made me stop and think about how I learn. One was at the dentist. He told me that I need to do a “better job brushing and flossing”. When I asked how to do a better job, he told me that it was important for me to keep my teeth clean and my gums healthy. I gave up on asking. The other experience came while I was reading the first chapter of Teaching Introductory Physics by Arnold Arons. A friend sent it to me as an introduction to math-for-science, and it jumps right in to detailing the trouble that students at a university level tend to have dealing with ratio and proportion problems. The author suggests, to remediate these deficiencies, incorporating questions related to the science content that require students to verbally interpret the quantities being calculated, and to later become facile with reversing a line of reasoning or an operation and know the meaning of that action. As I read the chapter, I thought about how learning is difficult and at the same time, how it can be incredibly rewarding. And I wondered why the dentist didn’t just tell me how to brush better. (more…)