R9

Quote:

“They believe that Galton’s wall often has much less to do with our innate limits than with what we consider an acceptable level of performance. They’ve found that top achievers typically follow the same general pattern. They develop strategies for keeping out of the autonomous stage by doing three things: focusing on their technique, staying goal-oriented and getting immediate feedback on their performance” (Foer, 2011).

Question:

When we think about an “acceptable” level of performance, who sets that for our students and why? Are they qualified to make that type of decision?

Connection:

“In other words, regular practice simply isn’t enough. To improve, we have to be constantly pushing ourselves beyond where we think our limits lie and then pay attention to how and why we fail… More than anything, what differentiates top memorizers from the second tier is that they approach memorization like a science. They develop hypotheses about their limitations; they conduct experiments and track data” (Foer, 2011).

Given this quote, I wondered about my practice of developing intervention plans for students. Typically I create goals that are attainable so that students can feel a sense of success and hopefully continue to be a part of the intervention. So the idea is to take things slowly and build. I’ve once heard something similarly described as “go slow to go fast”. I wonder, when dealing with students that need to overcome considerable challenges, would Foer’s suggestions work for their improvement too?

Connection:

“Classroom teachers face the challenge of making the encoding of the information and skills that we are attempting to teach students as elaborate and deep as possible” (King-Friedrichs, 2001, p. 77). This quote makes me think of James’ idea that students need diverse opportunities and build strong connections to learn best. I wonder if this is at odds with teaching elaborate and deep information to students. Just as Foer (2011) also suggested, there is a delicate “balance between moving quickly and forming detailed images,” in practicing the art of memorization. I wonder how teachers can be efficient and offer diverse experiences, but also offer deep study to students.