Prompt: How To Teach Students

K-12 schools can achieve successful outcomes by avoiding certain challenges, and implementing proven rules. The rules consist of curricular rules (teaching methods, content, and policies), and environmental rules (planning, design, and process). 

1. Curricular Rules

Teaching Methods: Teaching methods change as students gain more knowledge. The initial stages of learning require Direct Instruction (DI) because students don’t know anything yet. DI corresponds to (1) Inspiration. In the next stage, Self-Directed Learning (SDL), students organize the information they have received, and connect it to their existing knowledge. SDL corresponds to (2) Exploration. As students master the material, they demonstrate their proficiency by doing Student Projects (SP) which completes the cycle and turns them into teachers, at least in that instance. SP corresponds to (3) Participation.

Content: The content consists of 1) Ethics (Character), 2) Aesthetics (Judgment), 3) Logic (Intelligence), and 4) Facts (Senses). 

1. Ethics teaches what is Good. Something that is meaningful is not necessarily used for good, such as deceptive advertising. We should Model correct behavior, and explain why it’s important. We only benefit when we benefit others. Doing good, even when no one is looking, comes back on us. It gives us confidence to put ourselves in good situations. Teach nursery rhymes to children. Use allegories that children can understand.

2. Aesthetics teaches what is beautiful (meaningful). Something that is true is not necessarily meaningful, such as an unpersuasive writer who makes true, but irrelevant points. We should teach meaningful content. Without knowledge, students can’t help others, even if they want to. Explain rhetoric and persuasion. Explain bias, and how it affects perception. Being emotional clouds our judgment because it prioritizes ego. Don’t be overly-formulaic. Take each situation as it comes, and learn from feedback. Observe beauty in art, music, literature, and nature.

3. Logic teaches what is true. Something that exists is not necessarily true. Ex. 2+2=5 exists as an untrue statement. We can use intellectual tools to help us understand the world. Students should abstract real world situations into symbols and equations. Math describes internally consistent truths. Students should know about logical fallacies, and ways to reduce cognitive loading.

4. Facts teach what exists. Facts exist or not according to our senses. Student should familiarize themselves with tools of measurement: maps, rulers, scales, etc. Science is a system of empirical checks that form a consensus. Students should explore what exists: plants, animals, buildings, etc.

Policies: We should promote character education and discipline. Students should be matched with students of like ability. We should maintain community standards to keep students from falling into chaos.

2. Environmental Rules

School Planning: Neighborhood schools allow children to walk or bike to school, which gives them more independence. It is better for them physically, socially, and developmentally. They can map out their surroundings. Neighborhood schools create a neighborhood hub, which provides a place for neighbors to congregate locally. Parents can learn what’s happening in town, and ways to get involved. Neighborhood schools are smaller, and friendlier. Students feel like they belong there, so they are more confident to seek out information. Over-consolidated mega-schools intimidate students and overwhelm them.

School Design: A good school is adapted to the place, like it grew out of the ground. It satisfies functional requirements, and it fits in with its surroundings. It should have a regional style that represents the nobility of learning. 

• We should position school buildings to form outdoor rooms. Sprawling schools create wasted leftover space. Large middle schools and high schools should have courtyards, gardens, and playing fields. They can be a campus of buildings with covered walkways, or a single building, as long as there are connections through the building.

• The spaces between classrooms should be part of the learning environment. They should be rooms of natural light, with high ceilings, and furniture. They should be well-defined spaces, not like the high-tech lobbies that were popular in the 2000’s, which have an intimidating scale.

• Cafeterias should be broken down into smaller, more flexible spaces. Cafeteria tables require that everyone shift down in order to accommodate another person, whereas light-weight tables and chairs can be arranged according to what is needed. Students can eat at the café, or take food back to their “home base”. Outdoor dining doesn’t feel restrictive, even with a lot of students.

• Furniture should be natural, and comfortable. It should be assembled over time, like in a household. Too much uniformity is disconcerting.

Process: Break the school into clusters. Learning communities are based on the number of students needed for each level of schooling. Early on, schools are small like daycare. More students are needed in the later grades to support advanced classes, specialization, and extra-curricular activities.

Learning communities correspond to the different levels of community. For the school to be within reasonable walk times, the density has to be at least 4 dwelling units per acre. When the density is closer to 10+ du/acre, people live closer together, so it doesn’t take as long to get to the center. In that case, the county level is more like a city, since everything is within walking distance. At that density, the city can support a high school at the neighborhood level.

It’s difficult to separate the social component of learning from the physical component. An elementary school is a program as well as a building. The classroom is a social setting as well as a physical setting. Learning communities fit into physical communities based on their size.