Richard Feynman's father used similarities and differences to inspire a lifelong love of learning.
I can think of no better way to end Father's Day than by watching this remarkable clip of Richard Feynman explaining how his dad inspired his genius. Since my introduction to similarities and differences was pretty dry, I wanted to make sure you realized how inspiring they can be.
Notice that what captivated little Richard Feynman when his father read the encyclopedia aloud to him was that Feynman Sr. was an absolute master of the most effective technique to improve student learning: identifying similarities and differences. He explained new things (dinosaurs) in terms the child understood (his home). Feynman calls this translating it into reality, which is a great way to understand just how powerful the first strategy in Classroom Instruction That Works Is: it translates abstract things into reality.
Again, this technique is so effective because the way we learn and retain information is by attaching it physically to old learning in the brain. Direct instruction in similarities and differences tells us how to make these connection, so it is especially effective for students with autism, whose brains tend to make connections in unusual ways. Feynman as a child was inspired by two things: learning to analyze and think in terms of similarities and differences, and an appreciation for mystery. Dinosaurs were fascinating both because their heads were nearly the same size as his bedroom window and because no one knew why they vanished from the Earth. Instruction that eliminates as much ambiguity as possible can seem reductionist. The best remedy for is this introducing real mystery. Never the leave out the things that no one knows. A beautiful and powerful example of fathering-- and a kind of fathering that people with autism can excel at. This is how to teach your child to learn. This is how to teach yourself. |
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