WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Welcome to the deep dive. You ever wonder why 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:07.759 some ways of teaching just seem to work and others? 00:00:08.619 --> 00:00:11.279 Not so much. Yeah, why some things click. Exactly. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.380 So today we're digging into that why understanding 00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:17.239 educational theory, the foundations, really matters 00:00:17.239 --> 00:00:19.120 if you want effective teaching and learning. 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:21.839 We're looking at an article from hackscience 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:25.199 .education that helps unpack this whole thing. 00:00:25.480 --> 00:00:27.039 Right. And the mission, really, is to explore 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:29.600 how theory can shape better education, moving 00:00:29.600 --> 00:00:33.560 beyond just, well, guesswork. Exactly. The article 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:36.020 touches on Paul LeFrayer, some specific research. 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:38.539 It's about getting to that aha moment, you know, 00:00:38.740 --> 00:00:41.340 understanding the why behind effective methods. 00:00:41.500 --> 00:00:43.880 OK, so let's jump in. The article sets up this 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:46.759 tension between Doxa and Logos. Doxa, first, 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:48.960 what's that about? Well, drawing on Aristotle 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:51.240 and Frere, Docs is basically practice that's 00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:53.759 just based on opinion, or, you know, we've always 00:00:53.759 --> 00:00:56.579 done it this way. Oh, okay. Habit, almost. Kind 00:00:56.579 --> 00:00:58.460 of, yeah. And Frere apparently warned this could 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:01.119 lead educators to become, like, bureaucratized, 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:03.979 just repeating these high -sounding mechanical 00:01:03.979 --> 00:01:06.459 explanations. Sounds familiar, maybe. That feeling 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:08.439 of just going through the motions. Absolutely. 00:01:08.579 --> 00:01:10.959 It's that routine practice without really questioning 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:15.120 the why. So, the article contrasts this with 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:18.030 Logos. Which is? Logos is practice that's actually 00:01:18.030 --> 00:01:21.030 informed by coherent theory. It's about understanding 00:01:21.030 --> 00:01:23.030 why you're doing what you're doing in the classroom. 00:01:23.590 --> 00:01:26.650 So let's educators be more deliberate. Like the 00:01:26.650 --> 00:01:29.730 article says, more active designers of coherent 00:01:29.730 --> 00:01:32.230 curriculum and instruction. Precisely. Not just 00:01:32.230 --> 00:01:34.349 delivering content, but thoughtfully crafting 00:01:34.349 --> 00:01:37.049 the learning experience based on some solid ideas 00:01:37.049 --> 00:01:39.469 about how learning actually happens. OK, and 00:01:39.469 --> 00:01:41.349 underlying that is something called epistemology. 00:01:41.709 --> 00:01:44.250 Big word, but important here. Yeah, it sounds 00:01:44.250 --> 00:01:47.569 academic, but it's simply about what an educator 00:01:47.569 --> 00:01:50.250 believes about knowledge itself. How is it created? 00:01:50.329 --> 00:01:53.450 How do people learn? And the article cites research, 00:01:54.549 --> 00:01:57.629 NIST and whole shoe from back in 2005. They found 00:01:57.629 --> 00:01:59.890 that a teacher's personal beliefs about this 00:01:59.890 --> 00:02:02.709 stuff, their epistemology, really influences 00:02:02.709 --> 00:02:05.469 their teaching style, their goals, everything. 00:02:05.689 --> 00:02:07.829 So like, if you believe knowledge is just poured 00:02:07.829 --> 00:02:10.620 into students' heads, you'll lecture a lot. Right. 00:02:10.819 --> 00:02:13.319 But if you think knowledge is built through experience, 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:17.699 you might favor, say, hands -on projects or group 00:02:17.699 --> 00:02:21.439 work. It all stems from that core belief about 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:24.080 learning. That makes sense. What about teachers 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:26.439 who say they're, you know, theory -free, just 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:28.460 practical? Well, the article makes a really key 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:31.280 point here. It argues that every instructional 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:34.000 strategy, whether you realize it or not, actually 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.319 embodies some kind of learning theory. So there's 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:40.069 no escaping it. Pretty much. There are always 00:02:40.069 --> 00:02:42.370 underlying assumptions about how students learn 00:02:42.370 --> 00:02:44.710 best, even in what seems like a purely practical 00:02:44.710 --> 00:02:47.770 choice. And these beliefs, yours personally, 00:02:47.909 --> 00:02:50.530 or maybe the whole school's, they really drive 00:02:50.530 --> 00:02:52.669 decisions about curriculum and teaching methods. 00:02:53.030 --> 00:02:55.830 OK. But is there a risk of, I don't know, getting 00:02:55.830 --> 00:02:58.210 bogged down? Could focusing too much on theory 00:02:58.210 --> 00:03:00.750 actually make it harder to just, well, teach? 00:03:00.849 --> 00:03:03.240 That's a potential concern, yeah. The article 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:05.620 sort of acknowledges that theoretical navel gazing 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:08.439 maybe could hinder delivery. Finding the right 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:11.280 balance is key. But the core argument leans towards 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:13.800 theory being essential. Definitely. The article 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:16.259 strongly suggests that these theoretical foundations 00:03:16.259 --> 00:03:19.740 are crucial for designing effective, sufficient 00:03:19.740 --> 00:03:22.750 curriculum. Especially now. Why especially now? 00:03:22.889 --> 00:03:25.310 Well, because our understanding of learning keeps 00:03:25.310 --> 00:03:27.930 evolving, right? And educational goals shift. 00:03:28.389 --> 00:03:31.430 So aligning teaching practices with current knowledge, 00:03:31.650 --> 00:03:34.250 choosing logos over doxa, becomes more and more 00:03:34.250 --> 00:03:37.110 important for creating genuinely effective education. 00:03:37.270 --> 00:03:39.930 It's about staying current and intentional, not 00:03:39.930 --> 00:03:42.550 just sticking to old habits. Exactly. Think about 00:03:42.550 --> 00:03:45.550 a teacher using, say, spaced repetition because 00:03:45.550 --> 00:03:47.610 they understand memory theory. That's theory 00:03:47.610 --> 00:03:49.949 making practice better. And the source is driving 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:52.099 this thinking in the article you mentioned, Frere's 00:03:52.099 --> 00:03:54.419 book. Yeah, Education for Critical Consciousness, 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:57.580 a classic from 74 about empowering learners and 00:03:57.580 --> 00:04:00.139 that NIST and Holshure study on epistemological 00:04:00.139 --> 00:04:03.020 beliefs. They provide that deeper context. Right. 00:04:03.099 --> 00:04:05.659 Good foundations. So wrapping it up, the main 00:04:05.659 --> 00:04:07.900 takeaway really is that moving from just opinion 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:10.560 based practice, that doxa, to practice informed 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:14.159 by solid theory logos, that's the path to more 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:16.980 coherent and ultimately more effective education. 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:19.220 It's about being a more thoughtful, informed 00:04:19.209 --> 00:04:22.009 educator. Definitely. So here's something for 00:04:22.009 --> 00:04:25.269 you, the listener, to think about. Reflect on 00:04:25.269 --> 00:04:28.069 your own educational journey, the teachers you 00:04:28.069 --> 00:04:31.589 had, the schools you attended. What underlying 00:04:31.589 --> 00:04:33.689 theories or assumptions about learning do you 00:04:33.689 --> 00:04:36.110 think were operating there? Was it more doxa, 00:04:36.410 --> 00:04:38.290 just the way things were done, or could you see 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:40.949 some logos, some clear principles at play? It's 00:04:40.949 --> 00:04:42.069 an interesting lens to look through.