In this day and age of Google and smartphones, we have all the answers at our fingertips, but do we know how to find them, and what to do with them once we have found them? Content is becoming less important to remember, and the ability to understand and apply the knowledge is much more important.
"You don't have to know all the answers, you just need to know where to find them." - Albert Einstein
In this day and age of Google and smartphones, we have all the answers at our fingertips, but do we know how to find them, and what to do with them once we have found them? Content is becoming less important to remember, and the ability to understand and apply the knowledge is much more important.
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My Quora response to "Are there any studies about how reading stories to your children affect their development of empathy?" - http://www.quora.com/Are-there-any-studies-about-how-reading-stories-to-young-children-affects-their-development-of-empathy/answer/Teresa-Gonczy
Reading fiction seems to increase empathy, possibly because of becoming emotionally engaged with characters, allowing the reader to experience different ways of being and different mental states. Neuroscience has shown that reading about a specific experience (smelling perfume, kicking a ball) can cause a reader's brain to fire similar neurons as actually doing the experience in real life. "And there is evidence that just as the brain responds to depictions of smells and textures and movements as if they were the real thing, so it treats the interactions among fictional characters as something like real-life social encounters." from The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction Most of the reading studies specifically on empathy have been done with adults. * Bal & Veltkamp experiments showed that if readers are emotionally transported by the story, they tend to show more empathy after reading - How Does Fiction Reading Influence Empathy? An Experimental Investigation on the Role of Emotional Transportation * Dan Johnson's experiments have shown similar results - Transportation into a story increases empathy, prosocial behavior, and perceptual bias toward fearful expressions * Mar & Oatley did a correlational study showing the more fiction a person reads, the better they are at perceiving emotion in the eyes and picking up on social cues, even when they controlled for personality openness and other characteristics - Page on Ucla One study by Mar et al done with children involves an aspect of empathy called theory-of-mind, or the ability to understand that different people can have different preferences and perspectives. For example, one type of theory-of-mind experiment involves a child and an experimenter with two bowls between them - one of cookies (or similar food that the child enjoys) and one of broccoli (or similar food that the child does not like as much). The experiment looks at whether the child will give cookies or broccoli to the experimenter after the experimenter has shown that they prefer broccoli over cookies - namely, can the child understand that another person has different preferences, that the other person has a different type of mind? Before 18 months old, babies typically give the experimenter cookies, showing that they did not have developed much theory-of-mind yet, Starting around 2 years old, many toddlers have started to understand others' states of mind better, and will often give broccoli to the experimenter. Theory-of-mind continues to develop throughout childhood (and even into adulthood). What Mar, Tackett, & Moore found was that even after controlling for age, gender, vocabulary, and parental income, preschoolers's exposure to storybooks predicted their theory-of-mind abilities. Page on Www So while there are not an abundance of studies on reading & empathy in young children, the studies in adults and the one study with preschoolers do seem to suggest that reading fiction, including storybooks, enhances empathy development in children. An interesting aspect to look at in further studies would be the influence of the parent/adult's interaction with the child during the reading of the story. Is it just the story itself that enhances empathy? Or is empathy also enhanced by the parent talking with the child about the characters, helping to explain how the characters feel and why they react the way they do in the story. Dr. Mar conjectures that parent-child conversations about different mental states may help with the development of theory-of-mind. If you are looking to increase empathy in your child, this webpage Teaching Your Child Empathy has some tips and advice, including reading! (Plus more empathy in children study references at the bottom of that webpage) I am starting to look for a position based in the Bay Area where I can make a difference in the education of children, preferably ages 0-6, in a non-traditional setting (non-profit, social enterprise, foundation, etc) for a larger population (the San Francisco region, California, or even nationally). I want to use research-based methods and possibly be involved in testing and collecting data on new instructional ideas, but my skills and interests are best suited for the actual organizational management & implementation side of the equation, rather than the writing and analyzing numbers side. I see the need both for cognitive development (early language learning, STEAM, etc) as well as for non-cognitive development (empathy, executive functioning skills, creativity, etc). I thrive when I can do both strategy and operations, both big picture planning and day-to-day running (part of the reason why I've owned several businesses). I like a mix of customer service and higher level coordinating - organizing all the moving parts behind the scenes and also some in-person interaction - making people (especially kids!) smile. I need a variety of tasks and responsibilities, multiple projects moving forward at the same time. I want the ability to make decisions quickly and start new initiatives without bureaucracy or committee meetings. I enjoy traveling, both region-wide and nation-wide, and would be happy with a position that included some driving to different sites, flying for conferences, etc. I love working with other passionate, positive, intelligent people in a collaborative environment that values productivity and allows employees to work when & where is best for them (although of course, teachers need to be with the students for classes, brick&mortar businesses need to be staffed during their open hours, and events need people to run them). I take personal responsibility and will do what it takes to get the job done, and I expect my co-workers to do the same, but I also want work-life balance and I encourage switching shifts or trading tasks so that everyone can provide value to the company, gain personal value from their employment, and still enjoy their family, hobbies, and free time. http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130730145657-5799319-unlimited-vacation-days-treat-employees-like-adults Possible Job Titles: Educational Coordinator, Director of Education, Administrative Director, Program Director, Director of Programming, Project Coordinator, Executive Director, Chief Program Officer, Regional Education Leader ** While seeking a full-time position, I am still available for event coordination, short-term projects, speaking engagements, and consulting gigs - as well as babysitting / nannying, tutoring / teaching, and coaching. :-) My Quora answer to "What foundational aspects of programming could be taught in early childhood education?" - http://www.quora.com/What-foundational-aspects-of-programming-could-be-taught-in-early-childhood-education/answer/Teresa-Gonczy
Programming as many programmers think about it (typing various commands in Java or C or whatever language of the day, long algorithmic procedures, waiting for it to compile, etc) is obviously not something that preschoolers can do, but there are aspects of programming and computer science that can be learned in early childhood - sometimes using computers, but often not using any 'technology'. To start off, why programming in early childhood? Because we want our kids to be creators, not just consumers. “When human beings acquired language, we learned not just how to listen but how to speak. When we gained literacy, we learned not just how to read but how to write. And as we move into an increasingly digital reality, we must learn not just how to use programs but how to make them.”Program or be Programmed Our kids (and thus our future adults) should understand how computers work - that it's not magic, but rather that a real person (or more likely a large group of people) designed the hardware and the software, and that anyone can hack at it or change it. From a more academic standpoint, programming principles are wonderful for teaching sequencing, following a set of rules or procedures, and breaking a larger problem down into smaller 'bite-size' pieces - all of which are essential skills to learn in early childhood. Algorithms don't have to be done on a computer - following a cooking recipe, remembering how to navigate around the school, even knowing the order of how to put your clothing layers on are all algorithms, albeit very simple ones. Programming is also about abstract thinking, which is something that young children are not very good at yet - but I would argue that just because they're not good at it (and probably won't be for a while) doesn't mean that they can't practice basic abstractions at an age-appropriate level. Asking generalized questions - not just "What do you need to put on before going outside?", but "What would a person need to put on before going outside?" Helping children to use symbols to represent something else - possibly making up their own 'language'. Using Legos or other basic building toys to create 'something' out of 'nothing' - a house from blocks, a necklace from pasta. Many programming concepts are actually being taught to preschoolers already, without being thought of as programming or having anything to do with computers. But learning how to use technology is also important - there are many programs coming out to help young children get even more into programming. Scratch JR (Page on Mit) uses graphics, rather than typing. And a project out of Tufts (http://ase.tufts.edu/devtech/pub...) uses physical/tangible objects that the kids can manipulate to lay out their computer programs, and has been shown to develop children's sequencing abilities (Page on Tufts) Estonia starts teaching coding in first grade (Why Estonia Has Started Teaching Its First-Graders To Code) - maybe we should one up them and start even earlier? :-) Also - Page on Pbskids UPDATE 9/9/13 - you can also use board games to teach programming concepts to 3-8 year olds - check out Robot Turtles! http://www.kickstarter.com/proje... My Quora response to "What are the best educational baby toys for 0-6 month old babies?" - http://www.quora.com/Babies/What-are-the-best-educational-baby-toys-for-0-6-month-old-babies/answer/Teresa-Gonczy
Quick answer - the best educational baby toy, especially for a 0-6 month old, is.... YOU! :-) Babies at that young age don't really need 'toys' - they need interaction. Someone to hold them, someone to talk with them, someone to take care of their needs in a comforting way. Once they get closer to six months old, it's nice for them to have objects to reach for and to practice grabbing & holding, but an empty toilet paper roll or a kitchen serving spoon or that random mate-less sock from the dryer is just as good as any 'educational toy' you can buy. My Quora answer to "What are the most high leverage activities I can do with my 1-2 year old to promote his mental and cognitive development?" - http://www.quora.com/Child-Development/What-are-the-most-high-leverage-activities-I-can-do-with-my-1-2-year-old-to-promote-his-mental-and-cognitive-development/answer/Teresa-Gonczy
Good diet, rich & varied environment, and having fun are all very, very important! Overall, happy parents = happy baby, so if you're stressing out about promoting development, then it's not worth it. But that being said, there are specific things that you can do to promote baby & toddler mental and cognitive development... -Talk with your baby. A lot! Describe everything that's going on - focus on the here and now so that your baby can connect the words you saying with the world that he can see and interact with. -Make sure that you are using specific words, not pronouns (he, she, it, etc). For example, "Oh look, there's a dog. See the dog running. That's a pretty black dog. Oh, the dog is coming over here. Ha, the dog licked your nose!" will teach the word 'dog' much faster as opposed to "Oh look, there's a dog. It's running. Isn't it pretty? Oh, it's coming over here. Ha, it licked your nose!" -Be sure to talk *with* your baby, not at your baby. Interaction is just as important, if not more important, than amount. Turn your speech into a conversation. Watch and listen to your baby for their responses - little coos, widened eyes, puckered lips, waving hands. Also when you aren't interacting directly with your baby, try to stay aware enough to still respond to these little cues. By giving attention to these 'language/conversation attempts' no matter how small, you're teaching your baby and your baby's brain that his noises and vocalizations are important - and then he will practice them more, and the more he practices verbal interaction, the better he will get! -Learn some basic sign language and do the signs with your baby. Combining the physical movement with the lots of verbal language helps your baby to use multiple parts of his little brain. You didn't need to learn a lot of signs - in fact, it's often better if you don't because then it often helps parents (and thus babies) to really focus in on the most relevant concept in a string of words. Using the 'dog' example from above, if you combine it with doing the sign for 'dog', then the baby cues in more to that the word 'dog' refers to the fluffy thing running around, rather than any of the other words you said. -Start practicing executive functioning games. Self-control and the ability to inhibit behavior is strongly correlated with success later in life. So start working on it now, but in a fun way. Play Opposite Simon Says where your toddler has to do the opposite of whatever Simon Says. For example, if you tap once, toddler should tap twice and vice versa. Or if you say 'dog' they point to the 'cat' and vice versa. (Obviously you do this after your baby has a very firm grasp on the correct or non-opposite way.) -Make sure your baby gets enough sleep and downtime. Your baby's brain needs time to consolidate all of the input it's receiving. So baby needs sleep! :-) Also your baby needs some time to just take in the world, be able to self-regulate, etc - so you don't need to be interacting with your baby all of their waking hours either. Hope that helps! :-) As another responder said, it's not worth hothousing your child, but there are some simple changes you can do in how you interact with your baby and what types of activities you do with your baby, which can have a huge effect on helping them to grow and develop mentally and emotionally. "Humans have spent most of the past 150,000 years living in multi-generational, multi-family groups. These relatively small tribes were characterized by rich human interactions that aren't present in developed Western societies. In these clans, the ratio of mature individuals to young children was roughly 4:1. That is, there were four caregiving individuals for every little one. Fathers, sisters, uncles, older cousins, aunties, and other kin surrounded children - and all of them could educate, discipline, nurture, and enrich. Two parents, many caregivers. That enriched social environment is what our brains expects."
"In the modern era, however, the relational milieu has collapsed. In 1850, the average household size in the West was six people - today it's three or fewer. A full quarter of Americans live completely alone. Hours and hours of television, educational ratios of 1:30 in school classrooms, mobile families, transient communities, nuclear families, broken families - all have contributed to reductions in the number and quality of relationships available to young children at the age when their relational needs are highest. Indeed, we now consider a ratio of one daycare worker to five children adequate! That is one-twentieth of the relational richness of a 'natural' hunter-gatherer setting." -Introduction from Born For Love, why empathy is essential - and endangered. We can create the next generation of entrepreneurs by letting kids (and adults) create, fail, explore and collaborate in family-friendly makerspaces across the United States. Originally published on Women2.0 at http://women2.com/why-the-maker-movement-needs-to-be-kid-and-family-friendly/ It all started with a tweet. I don’t usually check Twitter, but for some reason, on May 4, 2012, I was paging through my feed, when I saw it – @BoingBoing “To do in LA this Sunday: Organize a kid-friendly hackerspace” And so that weekend, I met up with Tara Tiger Brown and a bunch of other teachers, hackers, entrepreneurs and makers to talk about creating a makerspace for families. Well, we didn’t get it all done on that one Sunday, but now 7 months later after lots of meetings and tons of planning, the all-ages Los Angeles Makerspace is really happening! We have a location in Downtown Los Angeles at the LA Mart, we’re fundraising to buy equipment, and best of all, we have real live children and families who are excited about our space and coming to our events and classes.
WHAT’S A MAKERSPACE, YOU MIGHT ASK, AND WHY IS IT SO EXCITING, AND ALSO SO IMPORTANT FOR BOTH KIDS AND ADULTS. A makerspace, sometimes also called a hackerspace, is a place where people can come together and create, invent, tinker, build, learn and play with all sorts of different equipment and materials. Some makerspaces focus more on electronics or robotics, others on arts and crafts, and a few even on biotechnology. Makerspaces are popping up in schools, libraries and private locations all across the US and the world. At a makerspace, you learn by doing, by failing, by exploring, and by collaborating – and this is why makerspaces are wonderful for kids (and adults!) There’s the saying that we learn 10% of what we read, 30% of what we see, and 90% of what we do. In a makerspace, you’re mostly learning by doing – you might read the manual, or watch someone else demonstrate first, but then you dig right in and get your hands dirty. Whether it’s programming or soldering or 3D-printing, all of our makerspace classes and workshops are hands-on, where kids and adults are actually doing the activity. They’re not just sitting at a desk listening to a teacher or reading a textbook – they’re actively engaged in using their hands and their brains to figure out how to create something new. And that active engagement really cements the learning – much better than a traditional classroom setting. And while they are actively exploring and creating, they’re also failing, sometimes over and over again – and that’s a good thing! The world isn’t perfect, and we’re not going to be able to get everything right the first time we try – but how we really learn and keep improving is by continuing to try even after we fail. In many schools, getting an F on a test is a horrible thing and something to avoid – but failure is really just feedback, a way of telling you what you still need to work on, what else you still need to learn. ‘Grit’ matters – can you persevere even when you can’t seem to get it to work? When a baby is learning how to walk, they fall down so many times, but each time, they get back up and try again. By working on maker projects, kids and adults have the opportunity to try out different options, see which ways work and which ways don’t, and to realize that ‘failing’ is all a part of the process. As Edison once said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” And with kids and adults more comfortable with failure, they’re likely to continue exploring, to keep that sense of wonder, to stay curious, and to feel capable! “TEACHING’S PRIMARY PURPOSE SHOULD BE THAT EVERY STUDENT GRADUATES READY TO TINKER, CREATE AND TAKE INITIATIVE” – JENNIFER MEDBERY. There’s so much, both big and small, that we could all be doing to help make the world and our local communities a better place, but all too often, people don’t think that they have the skills or abilities to do anything about it. And to some extent, that’s true – they might not know how to do it now, but that doesn't mean that they can’t learn and figure it out. When we first met to organize a kid-friendly hackerspace, we didn't know how to do it – each of us had some related skills or experiences, but none of us had ever done this exact task before. But that didn't stop us – we kept exploring different options, and eventually things fell into place. And we hope to give our LA Makerspace makers, young and old, that same sense of exploration and curiosity and capability – that even if you don’t know how now, you can figure it out and make it happen! “THE MOST IMPORTANT THING ABOUT MAKERS IS THAT THEY BELIEVE THEY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.” – DALE DOUGHERTY, MAKE MAGAZINE. And they’re not changing the world all by themselves – although we often call the Maker Movement DIY or Do-It-Yourself, it’s really DIT or Do-It-Together. Having a makerspace brings the community together for collaborative learning. And it’s not just the kids learning from the adults – often times the young and old(er) are learning side-by-side, and sometimes the kids are even teaching the adults, such as with our Arduino class taught by 11-year-old Quin (also known as Qtechknow). In a makerspace, everyone shares not only tools and equipment, but also ideas and knowledge. And this makes learning and working on projects go a lot smoother and also a lot more fun! Together we can do much more than we could ever do alone. “FIXING EDUCATION AND FIXING THE WORLD IS THE SAME THING.” – NOLAN BUSHNELL, FOUNDER OF ATARI. Through changing the way kids (and adults) learn, we can build a new world and create the next generation of entrepreneurs. Education isn’t just about what happens in schools – education is happening all around you, every day – and you always have a choice as to how and what you’re going to educate yourself about. And with the all-ages Los Angeles Makerspace and all of the other family-friendly makerspaces across the world, now you can educate yourself about creating everything from robots to holiday ornaments within a fun community of other makers! Read more at http://women2.com/why-the-maker-movement-needs-to-be-kid-and-family-friendly/ The more 'successful' people I meet and the more my friends do amazingly awesome stuff, the more I am also reminded that we are all just people. We're not perfect, we all have our own inner struggles. We're never 100% productive or effective. And we all need close friends who have fun with us and engage us in interesting conversations. And who support us in working toward our dreams and celebrate with us when we reach our goals. And who are also there to help dust us off when we fall, and hold us when we're stressed, and who stay with us as we grow and learn, and as we change priorities and become our future selves. :-) Getting other people to support you is critical to growing bigger and making a bigger impact. You can't do it all yourself. And all the better if the people are helping because they are passionate about the vision, rather than just doing a job. "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and
work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." - Antoine de Saint Exupéry :-) |
Teresa GonczyMy thoughts on education, cognitive science, early childhood, organization management, non-profits, and whatever else I happen to be thinking about! :-) Archives
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