The Role of the Educ System LO5049

Tobin Quereau (quereau@austin.cc.tx.us)
Mon, 22 Jan 1996 20:44:08 -0600 (CST)

Replying to LO5006 --

Marion, in response to your post about assisting students in clarifying
their mental maps, I couldn't help but recall an outstanding short video
tape which I have mentioned here before, but which bears repeating in my
opinion. The tape, "A Private Universe", is available from the CPB
Annenburg Foundation (forgive me if I have that spelled incorrectly) for
about $20.00 (or maybe $40.00) and comes with a well written guide for its
use in training, etc.

It basically demonstrates the existence and persistence of people's mental
maps or models--in this case concerning what causes the phases of the moon
and the seasons of the year--and how little the "correct" information
alone will change an "inaccurate" model to an accurate one. It has
implications for learning and teaching at _all_ levels, and will bring
home the need for new ways of "teaching" (or, as I prefer, facilitating
learning) better than any other short video I have seen. There is a toll
free phone number for use here in the U.S. but I don't have it available
to me just now. I will look it up when I get back to work tomorrow.

Thanks for a reason to remember about this wonderful resource.

--
Tobin Quereau
Austin Community College
quereau@austin.cc.tx.us
(512) 223-7821