Cort and history essay writing
I would be very interested in how Cort could be applied to structure essay writing - I was thinking about the following steps 1. AGO. 2. CAF. 3. FiP and then write the essay.
Your thoughts would be very much appreciated!
Your thoughts would be very much appreciated!
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Kim Jones on -
That's interesting about the acceleration, isn't it. In fact, this highlights a much less obvious champion attribute of trained thinkers: they can think fast.
I once tried to get a school principal who was floating the idea of longer school lesson periods to head in the opposite direction. He thought I was mad. He wanted the school to move from 7 X 40 minute periods to 6 X 50 minute periods. His reasoning: "so you can all teach in a more uncluttered and relaxed manner and go more into the details."
I smelled a rat instantly.
At the next full plenary meeting with the common room he made it clear that he was imposing his personal preference for loquaciousness, rich verbal interactivity and uncluttered teaching time.
Inwardly I started to groan and suffer anxiety stabs...
He made this one single point over a fifteen minute period, simply expanding on it and throwing language around the place the way I throw chook poo around the garden and essentially hammered the staff into submission. At the end he felt the motion was ready to vote on but if anyone had any objections that were worth listening to he might hear a few.
I stupidly stuck up my hand and tried to sell 8 X 30 minute periods. Why? People would be more brisk, more organised, more well-prepared, less likely to get side-tracked, less likely to indulge in warm, fuzzy confabs, lessons would be like half-hour TV programs which is what students are used to. Teachers could dress differently for each class - say a different coloured tie, or even present a class as a solo performance that would be discussed at the next class etc. Above all, the disease of verbal diarrhoea would be minimised and only clear and essential things and skills would be taught given the tight timing framework.
I turned around to look at the staff and about half had tightly-constrained grins on their faces, the other half looked like "is somebody going to escort this clown out of here I do I have to do it myself".....
A de Bono type doesn't sit around chewing words and explanations and running to fetch the dictionary or the Wikipedia.
Thinking, let's face it, is tedious. Let's get it over and done with as quickly as possible and then ENJOY and CELEBRATE the difference we have made in the world. If practised from the earliest years it will become a virtual extra sense organ that will leap into action when action is called for.
-
Permalink Reply by Kim Jones on
-
I don't think the type size is too difficult for them, it's just too small to be interesting! If you observe kids doing their incessant doodling, you will find wherever they incorporate text letters, they're always big and stylised, like graffiti letters.
I'm a great believer in 'white space' in text. I often separate thoughts with a good acre or so of nothing on a page. This way you can focus more on things when and as you choose, whether it's reading systematically down the page or just browsing for something I know is in there somewhere. Perhaps this the 'naturally slow' way that kids like to read.
Kids don't just want to understand language. They first of all want the letters to look interesting on the page.
so do I
Close-set type is scary, let's face it. Probably the main reason nobody reads a book much these days is because of the terrifying black walls of letters coming at you page after bloody page after
-
Permalink Reply by Kim Jones on
-
Why Ted loves his stick men and funny little drawings as you see him producing in the movie clips Parallel Thinking 1-7 on this site.
Language is simply not enough
Language is definitely ebne
Kids instinctively know this, but they are made to sit up straight and dot their I's and cross their T's by 'trained' teachers.
© 2010 Created by Administrator
Powered by 
.
