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A comment on Would College Students Retain More If Professors Dialed Back the Pace?. Parent comment

Re:Would College Students Retain More If Professors Dialed B... by stcredzero on Tuesday February 06, 2018 @02:09PM (#16318613)
It wasn't until chemistry, when I actually had to use algebra to get the molarity, moles, grams, etc, that I was able to grasp it.

There was this study that found this kind of difference in application. People were given a logic problem phrased abstractly. Then other people were given the same logic problem, but phrased in terms of catching someone cheating at something. It was like people's IQ's suddenly greatly increased.

I also remember an anecdote about this father coaching his kid through the multiplication tables, which the kid didn't like and had trouble with. They were riding in the car quizzing the kid, who was not doing well, but then the kid asked to do the 7's, which he rattled off with aplomb. Turns out, the kid really liked football. (US football)

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Re:Would College Students Retain More If Professors Dialed B... by Balgair on Tuesday February 06, 2018 @05:14PM (#16320414)
Nice ones!

I think application is important, but the diversity of what a child will care about is crazy large. You can't reach them all. My SO is a teacher (of chemistry, ironically) and some kids get the material and some just don't. It's not a lack of trying, it's just that they don't get it. As such, the frustration of the child comes out and makes things worse. Good family lives are very important throughout their lives and help, but some kids just aren't going to get certain subjects. We're all different people.

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Re:Would College Students Retain More If Professors Dialed B... by ZeroGravitas on Tuesday February 06, 2018 @06:04PM (#16320796)
I think your first reference is to the Wason selection task:

https://puzzlewocky.com/brain-teasers/the-wason-selection-ta...

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