[Educators] Jonathan Drori: Why we don't understand as much as we think we do

[Edward Cherlin]

On Sat, Sep 6, 2008 at 9:48 PM, Daniel Ajoy <da.ajoy at gmail.com> wrote:
> Video
> Jonathan Drori: Why we don't understand as much as we think we do
>
> http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/jonathan_drori_on_what_we_think_we_know.html
>
>
> similar to this argument by Alan Kay:

I'm discussing all of this with Alan Kay at One Laptop Per Child and
Sugar Labs. I'm trying to see whether we can put together a physics
course based on his decades of work. He has some excellent individual
lessons, but hasn't yet put them together.

> http://www.campbells.org/Rant+Rave/r+r_PowerfulIdeas.html
>
> Powerful Ideas Need Love Too!
> Alan Kay
> Fellow, Apple Computer Corp.
>
> Written remarks to a Joint Hearing of the Science Committee and the Economic and Educational and Opportunites Committee
>
> October 12, 1995
>
> Let me start the conversation by showing a video made by the National Science Foundation at a recent Harvard commencement, in which they asked some of the graduating seniors and their professors a few simple questions about what causes the seasons and the phases of the moon. All were confident about their answers, but roughly 95% gave explanations that were not even close to what science has discovered. Their main theories were that the seasons are caused by the Earth being closer to the sun in summer, and that the phases of the moon are caused by the Earth's shadow. Some of the graduates had taken quite a bit of science in high school and at Harvard. NSF used this to open a discussion about why science isn't learned well even after years of schooling. And not learned well even by most of the successful students, with high SATs, at the best universities, with complete access to computers, networks, and information.

I was just watching an eminent physicist botch his explanations of
black holes multiple times on TV today. [sigh] He gave every evidence
of knowing the subject, but not being able to state it correctly. I
find significant errors in textbooks sometimes. Rarely at college
level, moderately often at high-school level, constantly at
grade-school level. Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman was appalled at the
errors and outright lies in math and science textbooks when he served
on the Los Angeles County public school textbook committee.

> (Spanish translation here:
> http://neoparaiso.com/logo/ideas-poderosas.html
> )
>
>
>
> Daniel
> Similar ideas in Spanish Here:
> http://neoparaiso.com/logo/educacion-moderna.html
>
>
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