Week 6 DQC – EDUC 342: Child Development & New Technologies https://ed342.gse.stanford.edu Thu, 11 Feb 2016 05:14:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.6.1 Breaking the Symbol Barrier? https://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/breaking-the-symbol-barrier/ https://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/breaking-the-symbol-barrier/#respond Thu, 11 Feb 2016 05:14:42 +0000 http://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/?p=1437 I found the breaking the symbol barrier to be very interesting but it left me with a number of lingering questions. The first is, the video narrator made a distinction between everyday math and higher order math. I wonder how he drew that distinction? Another question of mine is whether everyday math can translate into higher order math. For example, understanding discrete processes like optimal allotments of inventory to a cart or store location, an example of everyday math, seems like it would have deep implications for a person’s ability to understand optimization problems more generally.

]]> https://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/breaking-the-symbol-barrier/feed/ 0 DQC – Week 6 https://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/dqc-week-6/ https://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/dqc-week-6/#respond Wed, 10 Feb 2016 16:10:14 +0000 http://ed342.gse.stanford.edu/?p=1429 Writing is an incredibly difficult subject to teach. As a first grade teacher, I constantly found myself toeing the line of teaching writing conventions without crushing their interest in writing.

In Justine Cassell’s article, Towards a Model of Technology and Literacy Development, SAM really intrigued me as a “Vygotskian more capable peer, seeming to push children to act at the top of their individual ability through the nature of their social interactions.” As a teacher I always wanted to push students to try new things and expand their writing skills, but I was often afraid of crushing their spirits. I believe that a peer has more leeway than an adult when it comes to giving advice and acting as a role model. Maybe it is easier for a child to imagine doing as other children do; other children might be more relatable than an adult.

I have two questions on the subject:

In what other subjects could SAM push students to “act at the top of their individual ability”?

Instead of SAM should we be using this information as an indication that schools should organize more opportunities for students to work with more capable [human] peers?

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