It isn't just about Learning ACEs

I watched a video of a talk given by Roger Shank in 2010 a while ago and picked up on something he did. He asked a large audience at a conference something like, “How many of you can give me the quadratic equation?” Nobody put their hand up. Then he said, “But you learned it. All of you had to learn it in school.” He then went on to ask about a few other things we all had to learn in school, like balancing a chemical equation. Unsurprisingly, almost none of the conference attendees remembered how to do them.

I know that all the information I have learned from this class I will be able to recall years later. That is a first for me. Usually after an exam, all that I learned escapes my brain! (former Socelor.com student)

When it comes to Socelor.com, I talk about how we can learn abstract cognitive enablers (ACEs). Learning how to really think is great, but remembering what we learn (subject matter) is good too. Using the methods I have developed, students don’t forget what they learn. I don’t give exams because that isn’t my purpose for teaching. I don’t use the Socelor.com methods to help students memorize information, but they do remember it. That’s because the methods I’ve pioneered are based on the principles underlying The Science of Learning.

If we teach the way our students learn, they don’t forget. If we know that we are teaching something that they really won’t need to know in the future, then why are we teaching it? Learning isn’t memorizing, it is remembering.

Teaching critical thinking skills, how to research, and how to write an argument… these skills need to be taught in university, not just assumed to have been learned already. That’s what Jesse’s class has done for me. (former Socelor.com student)

When you think about Roger’s questions for each one of us, we had to learn those basic things in school. We had to memorize (learn) them to pass a test.

If education is about getting people to learn how to think this module was perfect. If it is about memorizing facts and theories, it works as well, but that misses the whole point of what we were doing. (former Socelor.com student)

One year I taught a statistics and research methods class using the method I have developed, and I was amazed at what the students did with it. The class was an advanced class, and the students blew me away (as well as another long-time stats teacher) with what they learned from and with each other. One of them wrote about a chi-square test – a very basic statistical analysis. The students discussed it (among other things) for two weeks. When they finished, they really understood what a chi-square analysis was. We had already taught them a year or so earlier and all of them had done well on the tests or they wouldn’t have been in my class. They had already learned this. In addition, one of them wrote a series of articles about figures (bar graphs, pie charts, etc.) and the entire class discussed everything about the figures that I could think of - and more. But they had already learned about figures years before.

The module has been constructed in a way to allow us to see in everyday action, the very things we are learning. (former Socelor.com student)

…we did not ‘learn’ because we had to pass. I have been inspired and excited to understand. (former Socelor.com student)

Isn’t this what learning should be about?

I found what I thought was lost after so many years in the education system: a love for learning. (former Socelor.com student)

What this means is that if you sign up for a Socelor.com cycle, you not only develop your ACEs, but you will regain the excitement of learning that so many of my students found after they thought it was long lost.

Heather E. McGowan Donna Patricia Ann Eiby John Reaves Jim Bruner Michael Strong Espinola Woolfolk Chris Shipley Roger Prentis Ken Carroll Jessy Watmough Chasen Miko, BSc, CCAC Bailey Way Shiela Chipman Paul Petillot Marina Gorbis Ken Mellendorf Gabriella Kovacs MA, PCC Harriet Thompson, PhD, MBA Sue Fewster Muneer Gohar Babar Kristopher Stewart, PhD Patrick Young John Allen Washington Binu Zachariah Amy Buttell Fay?al S. Cristina Sim?es Bryan Quibell Maria Calkins Annalies Corbin Annalie Killian Stephen Spinelli Amy Beard Karen Rivoire ?????? Susan S. Shannon Lucas Umbereen S. Nehal, MD, MPH, MBA Tim S. James Johnson Rachel Happe Tonya Allen Enrique Rubio (he/him) Jennifer Sertl Jenni Clark John Hagel Mike Vacanti Lauren Mason Carris ? Cindy Lenferna de la Motte Jan Owen AM Hon DLitt Peter Hinssen Dianne Millard John Lowman Dr Shaukat Ali Maria da Gra?a Moreira da Silva Patricia Kimberley Robert Wuagneux Jacqueline Rice Joey Grace John Vokey Stan Rosenschein Taylor Filipchuk Wyatt Snape Storm Liversuch Tendai M. Michaela Evanson