David Temme asked students to imagine $10 bills falling from the sky on Wednesday night.
Temme, an award-winning U professor, used the money metaphor to show students that education requires both emotion and confusion in his lecture “How can the brain [a biological organ] best be schooled by school?”
Jamie Bowen, a sports and science project manager, said the lecture was set up in order to expose new teaching methods to professors as well as students. Bowen said there is always new research and ways to further improve students’ educational abilities.
Temme also discussed how brains create maps. He said as people get older, they begin replacing symbols with words, called “word-infested mind.” This is common because of the way students are taught in school. Instead of using naturally learned tools, people get out pens and flashcards and repetitively drill facts in to their minds. For example, when the word “two” is read, most people put the symbol “2” in their minds.
He said the “word-infestation” begins with students in middle school when they are introduced to algebra. Algebra takes memorization and flash cards instead of pondering and searching for an answer. This, for Temme, is a problem. He said confusion should be embraced.
Temme said the best way students can improve in school is through harnessing this emotion and incorporating stories to learn information, instead of flashcards.
“You learned Betty’s name because she was a part of your story,” Temme observed. “You didn’t have her name on a flashcard, flipping it back and forth.”
As Temme explained, having an emotional attachment to a subject is the best way to remember it. Being confused about a subject is also part of the memorization process, because confusion entails figuring a problem out.
Natalie Catlett, a junior in pre-nursing, said Temme’s lecture was important so others teachers can be exposed to his teaching methods. She said his methods are useful because he tells students why the subject they are learning is important.
Nikki Leonard, a junior in nutritional biology, said she agrees that confusion is a positive aspect in learning.
“He challenges you and makes you uncomfortable,” Leonard said.
Lydia Salmond, a junior in biology, said many professors just teach right out of the book, which is frustrating. She hopes Temme’s lecture and methods can change that.
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