Memory and its relation to agency

After today's class, I asked the question, why did we have to have our memories of the pre-existence blocked in order to have this mortal experience.

I have come to understand that memory is one of the primary mechanisms that establishes the meaningful grounds for our choices. In the pre-existence, our memories were an outgrowth of enculturation in the pre-mortal realm (I do not remember what that was or what it was like...). Those memories and hence, those grounds for making my choices were not really my own, as I lived in the presence of God and my choices were in accordance with His will (thus I was allowed to remain in His presence - as opposed to the adversary and his followers who rebelled). This all related to true agency...

If my memories of my pre-existence had not been veiled, I would have continued to make decisions based on those that god wanted me to make. I have already spent a long time in His presence learning, experiencing, and most importantly, doing those things that He wants me to do (I did them because I love them - I believe). Now that those memories are not available to me, I have created the new grounds for my decisions from the experiences, choices, enculturation, etc. here in mortality. God has not left me alone here, so I am not totally excluded from His influence, but I experience His influence through faith and spiritual phenomenon, more than by direct sensory experience.

Memory preserves my intellectual history and developmental propensities, which in turn affect my choices. Memory is more than just fact recall - it is recall of sensory, emotive, social, spiritual and physical experience. It is immensely important to agency, volition, choice, and meaning...

Explain vs Teach

Is explaining something inherently different than teaching something? I would answer yes.

I believe that explaining is part of teaching, but that teaching is so much more. Explaining deals primarily with the cognitive aspects of the learning experience. What of the social experience, the personal transformational or change experience? There are so many teachers who equate teaching with explaining. If that's all teaching were, we wouldn't need teachers because we have books, the Internet, libraries, museums, etc. But learning is more and we desperately need teachers. We need teachers who thoughtfully push our students to pursue paths of inquiry for themselves. We need teachers who know their students and understand how to help them overcome their learning failures. We need teachers who see their role as a critical factor in the success of the student. We need teachers who are themselves learners and incredibly curious about the world. Teaching is extremely demanding. Teaching is not a secondary profession, it is the profession of professions. Teaching and learning is at the core of every success, innovation, failure, joy, break-through, and progress. Teaching needs to be re-enthroned as a noble profession. Academics and 'research' have killed the spirit of powerful teaching more than they have strengthened it. In the attempt to analyze teaching, teaching has been killed, much like the frogs who are dissected for the purpose of teaching our students about anatomy. For knowing so much about the 'factors' of learning and teaching are we any further along than we were 80 years ago? Not if we equate explaining with teaching...

Profound address by John Welch at BYU Devotional 5-17-2011

Disrupting Class

This looks like a worthy interview:


http://ednak.com/disruptive-innovation-interview.html

I need to listen to it.

Failure Research

I have noticed two things recently:

1. Failure is usually only talked about as an individual experience rather than a group experience. There may be something to failing in groups that can help us understand things more.

2. There are a lot of books about learning from failure, but not necessarily about "how to fail better". The exception is a book I just came across entitled: "Fail Up" by Tavis Smiley (link). this book looks interesting. It appears to be principle-based more so than method- or technique-based. I will have to look into it.

Sal Khan - Khan Academy

The ideas in the video are great, but pay particular attention to his philosophy of education (roles, knowledge, and experience)

1-10-11 Lit Review Class

Rick's Class Website: Link

Faith - answers questions about Why and Who and For Whom something happens.

Science - answers questions about What and How and Where something happens


Literature Review Topics
Keith Proctor: Intrinsic Learner Motivation - "Drive" and "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel Pink(Link to Google Book - Drive and Link to Google Book - A Whole New Mind)
Kim Davidson: Value-added modeling
Jered Borup: Distance Learning
Pam: Elements of good story - Making good educational stories
Francoise: Lexical competence for French as a second language
Mike: Deliberate Practice
Ben: Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) & Second Language Acquisition
Mardy: Mentoring Relationship between EDLF intern and EPP administrators

How do published literature reviews compare to other kinds of published articles?
What are some of the different purposes of literature reviews?

A publishable literature review is:
Method
Answer meaningful question(s)
Substantive - cite major theorists in the field
Good writing - systematic and coherent
Findings section
Definable scope
Theoretical framework
List of keywords for literature searches
Evaluative - Element of critique
Provides direction for future research
Makes an argument

6 Steps of Conducting a Literature Review
Problem formulation - establish what journal to write for
Literature searching
Literature evaluation and Summarizing
Analysis and Interpretation
Writing and Structuring
Publishing and Presenting

Structuring arguments: "The Craft of Research" by Booth, Columb, and Williams (Link)
"Everybody Needs a Rock" - (GB Link)

How to Choose a Topic
Stick with what I was interested in when I began the program
Choose a research topic without others getting in the way
Write a lot about what I am interested in and want to research
Read a lot about what I am interested in
Choose a topic that is interesting to more than just you

How to Narrow a Topic
Use topic modifiers: locations, demographics, categories, and time periods

Literature Review Questions
What do we know about ...?
The purpose of this paper is ...

Teaching is essentially persuasion

Teaching is essentially persuasion. The teacher seeks to persuade the Learner to accept some idea that has been determined to be necessary and desirable for the Learner.

Do the Teacher's who are perceived as being successful use skills of persuasion?

How are Learners persuaded to accept ideas?

D&C 121:41-46 puts forth the characteristics and skills requisite of the Master Teacher:

Characteristics:
Long-suffering
Gentleness
Meekness
Love for others that is genuine
Kindness
Charity
Virtue
Confidence in the presence of God

Skills:
Persuasion
Imparting pure knowledge (knowledge unsullied by hypocrisy and guile)
Reproving with sharpness
Receiving guidance and impression from the Holy Ghost
Showing love to those you reprove
Controlling your thoughts
Keeping the Holy Ghost as your companion

The promises for the Teacher mentioned here are great and 3-fold:
1. The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost
2. A scepter of unchanging righteousness (stable control of your dominion and stewardship or classroom)
3. An everlasting dominion (or classroom) controlled without compulsion

Persuasion is powerful, but it can degenerate into compulsion when unrighteous dominion is exercised. Unrighteous dominion usually comes about when the Teacher relies on his/her own ability to teach, manage, and influence Learners. As D&C 121:37-38 clearly explains, this kind of Teacher will eventually discover that the true power to influence has been removed, learning ceases, and the Learner is not cooperative. Persuasion is a Godly skill and must be cultivated constantly through the development of the characteristics and skills mentioned above.

Teaching is more than design, instruction, sociality, etc. Teaching occurs when the Lerner understands and either accepts or rejects the idea being imparted.