Disequilibrium: Learning Theory and Personal Practice

March 31, 2015March 31, 2015 Teacher Learns to Code learning theory, programming, teacher education, ways to learn accomodation, assimilation, Chihuly, coding, discovery, disequilibrium, Education, learning theory, Piaget, programming, schemas, yoga

Notable Swiss child development theorist, Jean Piaget, explained learning as a continual process of achieving equilibrium, or balance, in our state of “knowing”…Then that balance is challenged when we encounter new stimuli, resulting in disequilibrium. When this happens, we try to apply our existing schemas (knowledge or ways of knowing) to the new stimuli (assimilation). We also seek and adopt entirely new schemas (accommodation). We tinker with all of this until we achieve that state of balance, or equilibrium once again. (Until the next time we encounter new stimuli…)

Disequilibrium, also known as cognitive dissonance, is not a very comfortable state to be in. It can feel frustrating, and challenging. It can cause fear, anxiety, and even panic. It is, however, necessary for true learning to take place. If we never encounter anything that challenges our current ways of thinking or knowing, then we never move forward. We never get smarter, more adept, more diverse, more eclectic, and that seems like such a dull place to be!

Since I started learning how to code, I’ve been thinking a lot about disequilibrium. Continue reading →

Inspiration: Fixed vs. Growth, The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives

November 24, 2014November 25, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code Insipration, learning theory, learning to code, resources learning theory, learning to code, learning to program, mindset

Do you view yourself as bad at math? Bad with technology? Incapable of understanding computer code?

Great news! These things are only true if you continue to believe them! If you change your messages to yourself, you will be more than capable of being good at math, good with technology, and capable of understanding computer code (among any number of other possible things you could choose to learn).

Excerpt from article by Maria Popova: Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets that Shape Our Lives: Continue reading →

“It’s Never Too Early to Develop”…Is this Brilliant, or Simply Novel?

November 7, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code early childhood education, HTML, infants and toddlers, learning to code, product review, programming, teacher education, ways to learn babies, brain development, codebabies, coding, cognitive development, culture, early childhood education, HTML, infants, infants and toddlers, language development, learning theory, learning to code, learning to program, literacy development, overthinking, parenting, preschool, STEM, teaching, toddlers

CLAY85941-1024x648 — Photo Source: Codebabies.com

(from website) It’s never too early to be standards compliant! Show your little ones HTML markup code along with letter forms to get them started on the visual patterns and symbols that make up the essential building blocks of the Web. The first in a three-volume set, originally designed by a NYC Web Designer for his baby, this beautiful book is a fun and colorful introduction to the world of web design for babies.

I’m not too sure how I feel about this!

On the one hand:

I mean…I know that giving any book to a baby is better than giving no book to a baby.

Exposure to print is great (and necessary) for babies’ pre-literacy development.

I also know that exposure to simple, clean designs with high contrast is naturally interesting and engaging for them, while also supporting their ocular development.

I also know babies have an incredible capacity for learning language before the age of 3. The more language exposure babies get results in more foundational neurochemistry being established for learning languages later in life.

I also know that part of the barrier to learning to code is just being exposed to it, and NOT thinking that it looks and sounds alien. (I know this from experience…I can say that now!) Thus, this simple exposure could provide some foundations for code being accepted as a cultural reality in one’s world.

I also think this is clever! I mean…”It’s never too early to develop”…that is fantastic! Continue reading →

Embracing My Beginners Mindset: Avoiding Overthinking

November 5, 2014November 5, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code programming, resources, ruby, ways to learn beginner mindset, coding, computers, discovery, disequilibrium, edtech, Education, education trends, languages, learning theory, learning to code, overthinking

Hello. My name is Lauren and I’m an over-thinker…I’ve been learning to program for 29 days.

I commented this week that it seems like the Ruby tutorials I’ve been working through are getting harder and it’s taking me longer to figure out write the code that’s prompted. I have recently realized that half of the time I’m completely overthinking, which just makes me laugh at myself.

For example, I spent 25 minutes trying to solve one particular prompt, trying all angles of writing the code only to result in error message after error message. I stuck with it, miserable yet determined, and eventually realized that I had simply read the prompt wrong. The prompt was to add some code before the print command, and I was adding the code after. It turned out that I had correctly written the code the first time. Rather than going back and re-reading the instructions, I just spiraled down the rabbit hole…my code getting more and more complex with each try.

This is not the first time something like this has happened. I’ve noticed that the fewer angles I examine, the faster I’m able to complete the prompts. This is interesting to me, because it does not feel natural at all! Continue reading →

Interest-Based Learning: Keeping it Lively!

October 24, 2014November 7, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code languages, learning theory, programming, ruby, ways to learn 21st century skills, codecademy, coding, creativity, interest-based learning, learning theory, learning to code, learning to program, ruby, werewolves, Why the lucky stiff

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 9.59.08 PM — From “Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby”. Click the image to see the book!

Ruby has quickly become my language of choice. There’s something about it that just draws me. It might be because I’ve started reading “Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby”, and he agrees it’s important to submit to something that draws you.

Not familiar? Here’s a passage:

“This world’s too big for such a a little language, I thought. Poor little thing doesn’t stand a chance. Doesn’t have legs to stand on. Doesn’t have arms to swim.”

…”So, now you’re wondering why I changed my mind about Ruby. The quick answer is: we clicked.

Like when you meet Somebody in college and they look like somebody who used to hit you in the face with paintbrushes when you were a kid. And so, impulsively, you conclude that this new Somebody is likely a non-friend. You wince at their hair. You hang up phones loudly during crucial moments in their anecdotes. You use your pogo stick right there where they are trying to walk!

Continue reading →

Inspiration: Dispositional Thinking

October 21, 2014November 7, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code Insipration, learning theory, resources, teacher education, ways to learn 21st century skills, dispositional thinking, interest-based learning, learning styles, learning theory, learning to code, STEM, teacher education

Check out “Dispositional Thinking, Changing the Game”: http://teachingonthewind.wordpress.com/

“Dispositional thinking is about changing the focus from learning being something you are good or bad at, to something that is learnable and changeable, something that you can practice and improve; moving from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. It’s about developing the skills that support learning and are, at the same time, invaluable in 21st century workplaces.”

This empowers me as I bumble through my personal journey to learn to code, and is something I’d like to think more about. However, I think the ideas presented here are relevant in a much broader sense for all teachers, teacher educators, and beyond!

If you have comments, please post them on the original page.

Logo: Something to Get Excited About!

October 13, 2014November 7, 2014 Teacher Learns to Code algebra, experiments, geometry, Java Script, languages, Logo, ruby, ways to learn 1980s, coding, coding resources, crowdsourcing, drawing, geometry, interest-based learning, JavaScript, learning styles, learning theory, learning to code, learning to program, Logo, ruby, turtleacedemy, vintage

I received a comment on one of my posts, suggesting I take a look at Logo.

howardat58 says:

“You should have a look at LOGO, the turtle graphics language. Here is a link to a very good site for this, with interactive action”: http://turtleacademy.com/index.php (Comparing Logo to Ruby, he goes on) “The Logo turtle graphics is more fun, and will develop your understanding very quickly. It will do arithmetic, but its main purpose is to move a “turtle” around the screen, drawing or just moving, by specified amounts. the tutorial stuff is excellent.”

This is why I love crowdsourcing! I never would have thought of Logo, but I remember it! I think I was exposed to it sometime in middle or high school the 90s. I can’t remember too many details, but the memory is enough to give me SOME kind of reference point for this thing called coding.

I took the advice and started playing with this little tutorial, and realized this was perfect because it really taps into interest-based learning for me.

First of all, it’s “vintage”.

Continue reading →