This has developed several sub-threads. Need to know - I think in the 'Information Age' they need to know little, but they do require the meta-knowledge of how to learn. Eg should they learn Java Beans or XML or OpenGL or whatever? Doesn't matter - but they should have the skills and understanding required to learn the equivalent of these in 10 years time.
How computers work - I imagine the writer feels the answer to this is either couched in terms of a Turing machine or digital electronics. But there are other conceptions of 'how they work' depending on what aspects of them you consider significant - in the same way that the answer to 'how humans work' is (simplistically) different if you are a molecular biologist or a social scientist. In the 1960's books introducing computers explained that there were two types - analog and digital - I am implying that since then there has been a basic change in how they work and what they are for. And fishing is a process. The process takes place in the context of a large number of significant uncontrolled variables. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Rebecca Mancy Sent: 11 October 2004 17:22 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: PPIG discuss: Children learning to program > So we need to be able to figure out both what students need to know and > what students don't need to know. This reminded me of an article that I read in Mathematics Education: "the notion of cognitive root (Tall,1989) as a cognitive unit which is (potentially) meaningful to the student at the time, yet contain the seeds of cognitive expansion to formal definitions and later theoretical development." Generalising this idea outside of mathematics education, the idea is that we should be able to identify certain "concepts" that are understandable to students at whatever stage they've reached the time, but that can also be built upon. In other words, once they've learnt the cognitive roots, they shouldn't have to "unlearn" them at any point in order to learn further concepts that depend on them. I admit this doesn't fix the problem of "What will they need to know, but people don't necessarily need to know today?", but might offer a framework for thinking about what students need to know. Rebecca REFS BELOW: ----------- David Tall (2000) Biological brain, mathematical mind & computational computers (how the computer can support mathematical thinking and learning) Plenary presentation for ATCM conference, Chang Mai, Thailand, December 2000. Tall, D. O. (1989). Concept Images, Generic Organizers, Computers & Curriculum Change, For the Learning of Mathematics, 9,3, 37-42. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PPIG Discuss List ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PPIG Discuss List ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
