Less Is More

Discuss this article in our new Community Forum.

As I talked with parents at homeschool conventions this past summer, it was often challenging to explain the theories behind our program in a brief, rushed conversation. One of the themes that I kept coming back to was "Teaching for Understanding". This week I came across an article recently published by the Harvard Graduate School of Education that summarizes much of the research and theory that shapes Moving Beyond the Page curriculum. The article specifically addresses math and science but its tenants can easily be applied to social studies / history as well.

Download the article

Understanding Counts!: Teaching for Depth in Math and Science (Requires Adobe Reader)

To truly implement Teaching for Understanding takes a radical departure from traditional curriculum approaches. Traditional curriculum focus on:

• Covering vast amounts of information in a very short time frame and
• Memorizing a plethora of facts.

You see this when you look at many homeschool history programs that focus on sweeping time periods and science courses that cover one entire scientific discipline in a single year for an early elementary student.

With Moving Beyond the Page we take a very different approach. For example:

• Instead of trying to cover an entire science field (i.e. chemistry) or a broad historical era in the elementary years, we cover a developmentally appropriate level of information and encourage children to analyze and evaluate the issues, relationships, theories and discoveries they encounter. We provide lessons and activities that reinforce the learning through hands on discovery and thoughtful discussions. Children are encouraged to follow their curiosity and ask questions.
• Instead of focusing on the memorization of facts , we encourage the application of skills and understanding to real-world situations.
• Our interdisciplinary approach encourages children to draw connections between subjects. For example, as children are learning about how sound is created and interpreted by the brain, they are also learning about what life would be like without sound by reading the biography of Helen Keller.
• By teaching through concepts, which on the surface can appear rather abstract, children connect their learning to timeless and universal themes.
• Even at a young age, we provide opportunities for children to ask questions and perform research to find answers.

Many homeschool programs espouse that children in elementary school should primarily focus on the memorization of facts - even if those facts are not understood by the child. This belief is reflected by the incredible amounts of information they attempt to cover in an academic year. We believe the major focus of learning at every age should be on understanding: thinking, analyzing, questioning, and evaluating information. Memorizing some facts will encourage this, but the memorization of facts is a means to an end. That said, we provide chidren with developmentally appropriate information that they have the ability to anyalyze and evaluate. Kindergarteners do not have the experience or understanding needed to evaluate a feudal society in the Middle Ages, but they can evaluate, explain, and defend why members of a community should be responsible and kind. Then when they get older, they will be able to apply these understanings to the feudal system, or dicatorships, or slavery…

If a program does attempt to cover 1000 years of history in one year, children will receive a lot of facts, but do not have time or maybe even the capability (in the early elementary years) to really grapple with the themes or theories. MBTP does not attempt to cover an entire "Physics Course" for a second grader. Most programs that do this provide children with a lot of factual information and some advanced scientific vocabulary, however this does not make the program more rigorous or meaningful. If children spend time "thinking like a scientist" they will be better scientists when they are older.

Teaching for Understanding requires that an educator be selective about what is covered in the fields of science and history. Then the educator must attempt to teach the selected information, ideas, and thories in a way that encourages children to: remember what they have learned, anayze ideas and theories, ask questions and find answers, and to transfer their understandings to information and ideas they encounter in the future. We believe in the adage - less is more.

Moving Beyond the Page curriculum is based on brain research and encompasses a variety of educational strategies from experts in the field of education. I hope that you enjoy the Harvard article. It will provide you with valuable insights on how to approach information and ideas you want your children to learn. Teaching for Understanding should be a primary goal of educating our children.

Here are the summary points from the first page of the article:

Why is it important to teach less, better?

• There are vast amounts of information,
• Time is limited, and
• Students often can't remember, understand or use what they supposedly have learned.
.

How is deep understanding different from superficial knowledge?

• It focuses on meaningful patterns, related to structure and purpose,
• Fewer misconceptions result,
• Learned information is more connected, and
• Information is more likely to be remembered, used, and applied to new areas.

Discuss this article in our new Community Forum.