The Distortion of Ideas LO23030

Roy Benford (roy@benford.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 27 Oct 1999 14:00:20 +0100

Replying to LO22949 --

Fred Nickols's final comment in opening this thread was:

>A shorter, more direct answer to your question, Winfried, is that the
>distortion of ideas happens because our rush to reap the benefits of new
>ideas exceeds our ability and capacity to successfully deploy them.

Perhaps, this is a reflection of of what happens in the classroom. The
teacher presents a new idea and questions the class to get feedback on
understanding. The pupils rush to respond. Which pupil does the teacher
select to answer the question:

a) A pupil who consistently fails to understand.
b) A pupil who consistently understands about 80% of the idea.
c) A pupil who consistently understand 100%.

a) means that the teacher has to explain it all over again.
b) gives the opportunity for the teacher to praise the pupil and expand on
the answer (confirming their role as an expert).
c) gives the opportunity for the teacher to praise the pupil but leaves no
space for expansion.

Just a thought.

Roy Benford
Fulmer, UK

-- 

"Roy Benford" <roy@benford.demon.co.uk>

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