1. LESSON 9 PEDAGOGICAL PROBLEMS THAT REQUIRE ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES UNDER CONSTRUCTION Presented by THE NATURAL SYSTEMS INSTITUTE

2. PEDAGOGICAL PROBLEMS THAT REQUIRE ALTERNATIVES TEN PROBLEM POINTS IN THE ANALYSIS OF THE PEDAGOGICAL CULTURE THAT ARE CRYPTICALLY AND AMBIGUOUSLY, YET, NONE THE LESS STRONGLY, CONTRIBUTORY TO DEPRESSION, RAGE, AND DEPERSONALIZATION IN MANY HIGH SCHOOL TEENS 1.The pedagogical culture involves a vertical mentality with respect to the school and teachers vis-a-vis the students. 2.The pedagogical culture presents knowledge in an objective mode. The knowledge thus presented is the end result of many intelligent assessments of a domain of knowledge by many highly accomplished scholars. 3.The pedagogical culture presents knowledge as well delineated domains, each with fixed traditions of symbol and language conventions. 4.The pedagogical culture requires that the student make unequivocal concessions to the presented perspectives of a domain, its representative authors, and its texts. 5.The pedagogical culture requires, exactly or in essence, the assimilation of predetermined levels, sequences of networks, and hierarchical structures of knowledge of the world. 6.The pedagogical culture simultaneously presents knowledge as value free and as a value in itself [knowledge for knowledge’s sake]. 7.The pedagogical culture presents knowledge as though it were independent of and unrelated to the individual student’s intentional or goal-oriented processes. 8.The pedagogical culture evaluates students on a basis of fidelity of the students’ homework and test reproductions to the presented network and hierarchy of knowledge, independent of both the reality that knowledge supposedly represents and whether the knowledge is integrated with the students’ intentional and goal-oriented processes. 9.The pedagogical culture rank orders students with respect to their performance on tests of various sorts whose criteria are derived from the texts of the course. 10.The pedagogical culture assumes that its methods of teaching, which are tied to the requirements for passing a course and measuring up on national tests, elicit optimal cognitive operations and optimal integration with the students’ intentional processes. Click Pedagogical Reform to see the related document.

4. Lattice Vs Lock Step OPERATION 2 OPERATON 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATON 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATON 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATON 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATON 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 OPERATION 9 OPERATION 8 OPERATION 7 OPERATION 6 OPERATION 5 OPERATON 4 OPERATION 3 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 SKILLS RELATED TO KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS COGNITIVE OPERATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE ELABORATION STEP BY STEP In lock step, the instruction proceeds whether the knowledge content or cognitive operation has been mastered or not. When pieces of the lattice are missing, the edifice can not be built Unlearned building blocks prevents learning next step. Also prevents integration with related steps from other domains. Integrating cognitive operations from different knowledge domains improves learning. Not integrating makes learning inefficient and ineffective. Purple = not learned IS THIS GUARANTEED FAILURE? OPERATIONAL SKILLS –Language Reading Writing –Mathematics Counting Calculating Designing DECLARATIVE SKILLS –Collecting –Expressing PROCEDURAL SKILLS –Perspective Taking –Visualizing –Symbolizing –Taking Disciplined Action

5. HOW WOULD YOU DESIGN A TEACHING STRATEGY THAT WOULD INSURE THAT EACH STUDENT TRULY MASTERED AS MUCH KNOWLEDGE AND COGNITIVE SKILL AS POSSIBLE FOR THEM, AND, AT THE SAME TIME, DID NOT SUFFER LOSS OF SELF ESTEEM OR SELF CONFIDENCE, AND, DID NOT DROP OUT OF SCHOOL?

6. III. The Gradual Construction, Elaboration, and Perfection of Cognitive Operations in Relation to Educational Systems: Lattice Vs Lock Step OPERATION 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 OPERATION 9 OPERATION 8 OPERATION 7 OPERATION 6 OPERATION 5 OPERATION 4 OPERATION 3 OPERATION 2 OPERATION 1 SKILLS RELATED TO KNOWLEDGE DOMAINS COGNITIVE OPERATIONS AND KNOWLEDGE ELABORATION STEP BY STEP OPERATIONAL SKILLS –Language Reading Writing –Mathematics Counting Calculating Designing DECLARATIVE SKILLS –Collecting –Expressing PROCEDURAL SKILLS –Perspective Taking –Visualizing –Symbolizing –Taking Disciplined Action Cognitive operations related to knowledge domains and skills Domains of knowledge Integration across disciplines

7. This approach costs little or nothing. The results far offset the costs. If you and your colleagues imagine, talk, share, listen, compromise, and then try something. If when planning, you think multi-level, and imagine multi-dimensional. If you follow up with giving everyone credit for their efforts, evaluating without criticizing, revising, and together trying again, and again and again. If you don’t give up! Your Courage and Persistence will pay off! NOW begin an assessment of the school’s vertical and horizontal systems and ask what changes might be needed in order for the next changes to be successful. Then address planning and implementation of: I. Support Teams As Surrogate Parents II. Creating Pro-Social Roles III. Making the change from Lock Step to Lattice educational strategy, possibly using individualized instruction and possibly computerized curriculum.