In my monthly, five-minute STEM Skill Step Up Letter, I give hints like the following on improving critical cognitive and technical skills for young adults. I will also respond to questions that you submit. To do so, subscribe to the newsletter by emailing me. I will respond to questions on the Play-Ed Corporation Facebook page when appropriate.
For a nominal monthly fee, students may enroll in virtual STEM lessons that either I or one of my trained staff will facilitate.
Each week, I will provide one STEM challenge problem for students to solve. Then, through a virtual lesson, I will review key concepts from the problem, respond to questions, and teach students various learning strategies, problem-solving methods, and types of thinking. I will also furnish opportunities for participants to learn from one another. Finally, I will collect feedback from students for use in improving the lessons, making them more fun and didactic.The purpose of this extra-curricular training is to guide students in the application of STEM subjects to real-world problem, thereby preparing them for future careers.
Contact Dr. Joseph Gabriella at jgabriella.played@gmail.com to register.
In my monthly, STEM Anchor Skills Series, I give hints like the following on improving critical cognitive and technical skills for young adults. I will also respond to questions submitted. To join the newsletter and submit questions, please email me at jgabriella.played@gmail.com.
Scaling the Learning Mountain
The study of English is a national obsession here in Japan, where I currently reside. For decades, English courses have been mandatory in junior and senior high school, to which elementary courses are being added. English conversation schools are ubiquitous. Ads for private tutors are too many to count. Strangely, few Japanese speak English well. Why?
I can suggest several reasons. One major factor is cultural: Japanese are shy and perfectionistic. They not only hesitate to talk to people whom they do not know, especially foreigners, but also fear making mistakes. Another major factor is, paradoxically, the English-education system. Their memorization-driven centered techniques are not only ineffective, but also draconian. Many students learn only to loathe English in class.
I know from my own foreign-language studies that American schools and universities achieve better outcomes by blending different teaching techniques. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Learning allows us to understand why. In his now-famous framework, he separates learning into six major levels, each more difficult than the preceding. These levels are summarized below:
Knowledge (Rote Learning) – the learner can reproduce the fact or principle
Comprehension – the learner understands the principle
Application – the individual can apply learning to solve a problem or achieve a goal
Analysis – the individual is able to decompose the principle or idea into parts and explain the relationship between them
Synthesis – the learner can integrate the principle with other principles both internal and external to the field
Evaluation – the individual is capable of making judgments and assessments of the principles such as their range of application and limitations.
Mastery of a principle involves reaching the final step in Bloom’s Taxonomy. I have found this framework invaluable not only for language learning, but also for STEM learning. The follow example demonstrates how you could utilize the framework for a STEM concept.
Suppose your physics teacher is introducing the concept of velocity. He tells you that velocity has magnitude and direction. If you remember these facts, you have cleared the Knowledge level of the Taxonomy. If you can explain that magnitude is the speed or rate at which an object is moving, and direction is simply which way, you have demonstrated Comprehension. If you can explain how these concepts are used in the equation distance = velocity x time, and use that formula to calculate that a car moving at a velocity of 50 miles an hour north (velocity) will travel 300 miles (distance) in 6 hours, you have scaled to the Synthesis level of the learning mountain. Then, if you realize that because Miami, Florida is more than 300 miles away from Tallahassee, you will need to plan more time for your trip to the state capitol, you have reached Evaluation, the pinnacle.
Like climbing Mt. Fuji to see sunrise from the summit, applying Bloom’s Taxonomy is tough, but gratifying, work. I urge you to try it on for size.
Joseph Gabriella, Ph.D., MBA
Founder and CEO, Play-Ed Corporation
Author Profile
Dr. Gabriella is an accomplished scholar and businessman. Ivy-league educated, he has served as a lecturer or professor at universities in the U.S., Japan, and China. Currently, he resides in Japan, where he is a senior manager and active consultant. A former high-school math teacher, Joseph is passionate about teaching critical STEM skills to future generations through his company, Play-Ed Corporation.
I can suggest several reasons. One major factor is cultural: Japanese are shy and perfectionistic. They not only hesitate to talk to people whom they do not know, especially foreigners, but also fear making mistakes. Another major factor is, paradoxically, the English-education system. Their memorization-driven centered techniques are not only ineffective, but also draconian. Many students learn only to loathe English in class.
I know from my own foreign-language studies that American schools and universities achieve better outcomes by blending different teaching techniques. Bloom’s Taxonomy of Cognitive Learning allows us to understand why. In his now-famous framework, he separates learning into six major levels, each more difficult than the preceding. These levels are summarized below:
Knowledge (Rote Learning) – the learner can reproduce the fact or principle
Comprehension – the learner understands the principle
Application – the individual can apply learning to solve a problem or achieve a goal
Analysis – the individual is able to decompose the principle or idea into parts and explain the relationship between them
Synthesis – the learner can integrate the principle with other principles both internal and external to the field
Evaluation – the individual is capable of making judgments and assessments of the principles such as their range of application and limitations.
Mastery of a principle involves reaching the final step in Bloom’s Taxonomy. I have found this framework invaluable not only for language learning, but also for STEM learning. The follow example demonstrates how you could utilize the framework for a STEM concept.
Suppose your physics teacher is introducing the concept of velocity. He tells you that velocity has magnitude and direction. If you remember these facts, you have cleared the Knowledge level of the Taxonomy. If you can explain that magnitude is the speed or rate at which an object is moving, and direction is simply which way, you have demonstrated Comprehension. If you can explain how these concepts are used in the equation distance = velocity x time, and use that formula to calculate that a car moving at a velocity of 50 miles an hour north (velocity) will travel 300 miles (distance) in 6 hours, you have scaled to the Synthesis level of the learning mountain. Then, if you realize that because Miami, Florida is more than 300 miles away from Tallahassee, you will need to plan more time for your trip to the state capitol, you have reached Evaluation, the pinnacle.
Like climbing Mt. Fuji to see sunrise from the summit, applying Bloom’s Taxonomy is tough, but gratifying, work. I urge you to try it on for size.
Joseph Gabriella, Ph.D., MBA
Founder and CEO, Play-Ed Corporation
Author Profile
Dr. Gabriella is an accomplished scholar and businessman. Ivy-league educated, he has served as a lecturer or professor at universities in the U.S., Japan, and China. Currently, he resides in Japan, where he is a senior manager and active consultant. A former high-school math teacher, Joseph is passionate about teaching critical STEM skills to future generations through his company, Play-Ed Corporation.
STEM Lessons
Each week, I will provide one STEM challenge problem for students to solve. Then, through a virtual lesson, I will review key concepts from the problem, respond to questions, and teach students various learning strategies, problem-solving methods, and types of thinking. I will also furnish opportunities for participants to learn from one another. Finally, I will collect feedback from students for use in improving the lessons, making them more fun and didactic.The purpose of this extra-curricular training is to guide students in the application of STEM subjects to real-world problem, thereby preparing them for future careers.
Uncle Joe's Tutoring
For a nominal fee, I will set up four, 30-minute online sessions with students to tutor middle-school and high-school math, science and English each month. Students will participate in sessions with up to four others depending on scheduling. While I plan to tutor as frequently as possible, I also use tutors I have trained, usually career teachers or university instructors. Students will have access to discussion forums where they can pose questions to other students and to me. To maximize learning, I strongly encourage students in the same class to register together.Contact Dr. Joseph Gabriella at jgabriella.played@gmail.com to register.
© 2016 Joseph Gabriella, Ph.D., MBA. All rights reserved.
