Building a Free Educational Website

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by expiated, Nov 24, 2020.

  1. expiated

    expiated

    The Learning Process

    As stated earlier, there are numerous examples of new ideas that failed to maximize student achievement as promised, which is why we have no interest in improvising radically new or novel ways of schooling, as if innovation were, in and of itself, a panacea for success. Rather, it seems to make more sense to implement an effective, research-based approach to instruction—one that has a demonstrated track record of success.

    Therefore, in combination with mastery learning and criterion-based assessment, we will employ an established and widely accepted model of information processing, one that conceptualizes the process of learning in three steps (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968; Norman & Rumelhart, 1970). We label these steps as presentation, recognition, and retention.

    The first step, presentation, is simple and automatic. The mind will automatically hold new information placed before it for about one to three seconds while it decides if the material deserves further attention. After these initial seconds have passed, if no further action is taken the information quickly fades away.

    The second step, recognition, involves identifying the key aspects of something on which the mind has focused, and matching these aspects with related information or concepts already existing in memory. The degree to which a learner lacks relevant prior knowledge that can be applied to the thing at hand is the degree to which he or she will require extra effort in order to counteract “forgetting.”

    (Note: An important point to remember is that people choose for themselves what they will or won’t pay attention to, depending on the amount of value they anticipate it will hold for them based on their past experiences. Consequently, before beginning instruction on any topic, we will always make a point to help students recognize how the task at hand will be useful, enjoyable, informative, and/or meaningful.)

    The last step to the learning process, retention, involves creating a permanent mental record of the new information. We will help students accomplish this task by making use of organization and meaningfulness.

    With organization, complex or interrelated material is simplified by arranging its many separate details into just a few "chunks" of information. The key to this strategy is to organize the information in such a way that each individual detail in a given chunk (or group) serves as a cue for all the others.

    Meaningfulness is the most powerful component in learning (Ronald E. Johnson, 1975). The extent to which a new learning task can be related to what is already familiar to the learner is the degree to which that information can be easily encoded into permanent memory.

    When material becomes truly meaningful it is efficiently and effectively transferred from short-term to long-term memory. We will facilitate this process by first ensuring that students establish a relevant, useful, and basic foundation of skills and background information. We will then help each student to build upon this foundation of preexisting memory by applying understanding as they add on new and more complex material, ultimately constructing an elaborate edifice of knowledge.

    Part of this process involves providing students with a framework they can use to organize new information. By using these structures to make associations, information will be more easily transferred to long-term memory (Mary di Sibio, 1982). The techniques we will regularly employ include visualization, transfer (or learning by doing), emulation, strategic experimentation, music, rhyme, acronyms, acrostics, peg words, loci, keywords, self-questioning, note taking, and meta-cognition.
     
    #31     Jan 3, 2021
  2. expiated

    expiated

    Learning all U.S. states via visualization...

    I know the East Coast pretty well, so to memorize all 50 states, I started with the (primarily large) states out west, with Hawaii being number 1 and Alaska being number 2. For the next 17, I made numbers out of the states in a manner such that the shape of the state would remind me of its ordinal position (Arizona is 12 and New Mexico is 13).

    upload_2021-1-3_15-27-45.png

    States 20 through 24 pretty much line up one above the other just to the west of the Mississippi River. Minnesota reminds me of a root beer float with foam spilling over the side (mini-soda), and to me, Iowa looks like it has the face of a man on its eastern boarder (Des Moines, its capital, reminds me of "duh man," and it just so happens that "I owe-uh" "duh man" money).

    Missouri looks like it's in "misery" because someone is pinching its nose, and Arkansas his a little chip in the upper right corned "sawed" off. There's no difficulty in recognizing Louisiana, but it there were, I would simply note that it is roughly shaped like the capital letter L.

    Since I already more-or-less know the 13 original colonies, I just keep right on going down to South Carolina to total 15 states, and then move on until Florida finally makes 19.

    With those two groups (24+19) totaling 43 states, there's only seven more in the middle that are left to go. I know Michigan because I lived there. But teachers always say you can recognize it because it's shaped like a mitten. (I've also lived in California, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Florida, and Massachusetts, but I digress.)

    Ohio looks like it does the opposite of its name. From left to right, it starts high, then goes lower, and finished up high again. The opposite of this is low-high-low, which sounds like Ohio. Illinois and Indiana are the two states that start with a capital letter I, and Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee are not that difficult to remember now, with all the other states having already been eliminated.
     
    #32     Jan 3, 2021
  3. expiated

    expiated

    THE PROGRAM:

    At Jewels Educational Services for Up-and-coming Scholars, before we add any subject to our curriculum, we apply metalearning (the process of learning how to learn) by establishing how the information is structured and then using this structure as a framework for devising optimal learning strategies. We create a metalearning map by breaking subjects down into three categories:
    1. Concepts, or what basic ideas need to be understood;
    2. Facts, or what pieces of information need to be memorized; and
    3. Procedures, or what skills need to be performed/mastered.
    We use this metalearning map to identify which aspects of learning might be the most challenging, and then find/identify techniques for overcoming them. For example, if students need to commit a lot of facts to memory, we optimize the memorization process by employing spaced-repetition software to produce randomized memory tests.

    Next, we incorporate benchmarks by way of:
    1. Finding one or more authorities on the subject who clarify what concepts are fundamental to the field, what skills are in demand, and which resources are recommended
    2. Using online course lists or syllabi to find the resources, tools and texts that are considered essential in the field
    3. Researching people who've acquired similar skills or institutions that offer accreditation in a corresponding field and modeling our curriculum after the paths taken by these individuals and/or institutions—replicating their methods and equipment
    The resulting framework refines our focus and helps guarantee that what the participants in our program learn actually aligns with relevant/practical objectives.

    In terms of the focus of the learners themselves, if necessary, we seek to expand the length of their attention spans by using:
    1. Timers
    2. Pomodoro Techniques
    3. Interleaving
    4. Paying attention to "mental arousal"
    5. Using a systemized ("seven-bit") method of study
    We take learners from theory to practice in the shortest amount of time possible via:
    1. Directness
    2. Project-based Learning
    3. Applying drilling to...
      • Rate-determining steps
      • Time-slicing
      • Copycat learning methods
    To maximize retrieval, we use challenging recall strategies to achieve desirable difficulty, which again includes the "seven-bit method" of study. Additional techniques designed to generate more recall-focused study sessions (as opposed to mere review) include:
    • Self-tests using flash cards and/or free recall
    • Posing questions when reading in place of taking notes
    • Setting tasks that test everything learned to date
    Given that Mastery Learning requires high-quality feedback to identify weaknesses and improve performance, our program requires learners to…
    1. Acquire strategies for eliciting feedback
    2. Seek out feedback on progress made
    3. Distinguish between different levels of feedback.
    The three levels listed from the least to most helpful are:
    • Outcome (i.e., grades, scores, and final marks)
    • Informational (highlights problem areas and mistakes)
    • Corrective (specifies how given areas/items can be fixed or improved)
    To ensure that participants actually retain the information and skills we teach, we have them regularly employ smart, strategically-spaced memory sessions, using:
    1. Flashcards
    2. A Spaced Repetition System (SRS)
    3. Refresher Projects (i.e., learning by doing)
    4. Over-learning
    And as one of the final key components of our program, we facilitate the cultivation of deep understanding by encouraging our participants to prove core concepts to themselves rather than simply accept the truth of ideas simply because experts say they are so. To achieve deep knowledge and intuitive expertise, we insist that our learners work through these ideas for themselves so that they become experts in their own right.

    And finally, we encourage students to use strategic experimentation to lay the groundwork for original innovation by hybridizing materials, techniques and skills to discover new ways of doing and creating not previously thought of by anyone else in world history.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2021
    #33     Jan 4, 2021
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    I found a guy in the Ukraine (Odessa) who was able to identify the song for me. Evidently, the title is Palhaco (Clown?) and the piece was composed by Egberto Gismonti.



    I prefer it performed on soprano saxophone, so I think the version with which I am familiar is from the album Magico, as performed by Jan Garbarek.

    Here is a more complex version...

     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2021
    #34     Jan 6, 2021
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    expiated

    What is a conservative?

    The very essence of what it means to be conservative is that one conserves that which is essential for truth, for right order, for human flourishing—institutions, truths, convictions, traditions—all of these are to be conserved. That's the very nature of what it means to be conservative.
     
    #35     Jan 8, 2021
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    The Rise of Socialism in America

    Socialism is incompatible with America's Constitution and heritage of liberty. Among the chief concerns clear-thinking Americans should have about socialism taking root in our nation are:
    1. America cannot afford the steep costs of socialism.
    2. Socialism undermines faith and religious liberty.
    3. Socialism is the enemy of economic freedom and opportunity.
    4. Socialism undermines responsibility and encourages dependence.
    5. Socialism destroys prosperity and brings misery wherever it is tried.
    6. Once imposed, socialism is almost impossible to undo.
    For decades, too many American K-12 schools have failed to provide young learners with a solid grounding in American civics—the study of U.S. history, government, and economics. This has contributed to the attraction so many young people today feel for socialism. Hence, private K-12 schools should do all they can to take up the slack by doing all they can to teach young Americans about America's great heritage of liberty.

    Moreover, America's colleges and universities are now hotbeds of progressive and "politically correct" ideology—including socialism—and are increasingly denying free speech rights to students and others who hold non-progressive viewpoints.

    Accordingly, we need more private colleges and universities that will defend the free speech rights of students and others who oppose socialism and other aspects of progressive ideology.

    And of course, the news media is increasingly biased towards left-wing politicians, including those who are self-proclaimed socialists, and it is increasingly aligned against policymakers who challenge ideas that would dramatically expand government control of the economy. The news media is by and large biased in favor of progressivism, including socialist politicians and policies that tend toward socialism.

    Recent polling suggests that nearly half of younger Americans would prefer living in a socialist country. According to one analysis of these polls, the word "socialism" does not carry the same stigma it did in the past, now that it has been resurrected by celebrity politicians. Nonetheless, lawmakers who encourage young people to embrace socialism are doing a disservice to the country.

    It is therefore the duty of every responsible American K-12 educational facility to teach USA history well. Citizens who have been taught U.S. history, who understand the principles and meaning of the Constitution, and who are proud of our nation's heritage of liberty, are much less likely to fall prey to the fantasy of socialism.
     
    #36     Jan 9, 2021
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    expiated

    #37     Jan 9, 2021
  8. easymon1

    easymon1

  9. expiated

    expiated

    AMERICAN CIVICS
    .
    What Makes America the Nation It Has Become Over the Last 200+ Years?

    There are three elements that enabled America to become the place that it is today…
    1. American Philosophy, which is based on three basic, self-evident principles:
      • natural rights
      • the equality of all human beings before the law
      • the belief that government exists only to protect natural rights, and to enforce equality of all citizens before the law
    2. American Culture, which is characterized by four distinct elements:
      • a tough-minded tolerance for the rights of others
      • robust social institutions
      • a readiness to act in defense of liberty
      • a sense of adventure
    3. American History
    The above three elements are what made America the nation that it is today (as suggested by Ben Shapiro). But unfortunately, those who hold to intersectional beliefs want to destroy all of this. They view American philosophy as corrupt and exploitive, American culture as racist and cruel, and American history as a litany of abuses.

    To them, equality before the law is morally wrong because it merely reinforces pre-existing hierarchies of power. Instead of equality before the law (or equality of individual rights), they seek equality of outcome.

    In their eyes, the role of government is not to guarantee individual rights and equality before the law, but rather, it should serve as an overarching cure-all, and as a means of changing the hearts and minds of everyone. Of course, this is not surprising given that so many of them have little or no spiritual life, so they do not understand that it is in the arena of spirituality where the hearts and minds of people are profoundly changed.

    Moreover, they believe that federalism is a framework for oppression, and that social institutions have buttressed America's evils. Hence, they are convinced that America’s form of government and its social institutions must be demolished in order to build a better nation.

    In their view, rights themselves are a threat to the common good. Consequently, free speech must be replaced by hate speech regulations. Freedom of religion must be replaced by secular universalism, and freedom of association must be prohibited.

    Even worse, due process must be supplanted by mob rule, and private property supplanted by the public need. In their opinion, the USA is subject to unbending, rigid hierarchies that must be torn down by uprooting the entire American system. They feel that any disparities at all are a sign of discrimination.

    Ironically, many of these same individuals are powerful government officials, famous entertainers, and wealthy professional athletes who go around constantly sharing stories of victimhood at the hands of the very system that made them rich and enabled them to rise from poverty or obscurity to such prominence.

    They refuse to recognize that, though the United States has never been perfect, over time, it has come closer and closer to realizing the best of its ideals.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2021
    #39     Jan 13, 2021
  10. expiated

    expiated

    What is Modern Monetary Theory?

    upload_2021-1-19_18-41-33.png

    upload_2021-1-19_18-43-55.png

    According to Robert Barnes, modern monetary theory (MMT), or the idea that governments will be able to borrow and spend as much as they want for whatever purpose they want, with interest rates remaining low forever, will increasingly inform the Biden administration.

    The meaning of "heterodox" is: not conforming with accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs.
     
    #40     Jan 19, 2021