Nursery Rhymes

Consider the first two lines of a favourite nursery rhyme:

'Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet
Eating her curds and whey'.

Even I, subjective and adoring mother that I am, have to recognise that although Luc can recite these lines word perfect, he has absolutely no idea what the words mean.

In his article 'Does technology present a new way of learning?', Leamson (2001) explains how, firstly, Luc can memorise so effortlessly and, secondly, how as parents we can help to nurture his potential as he grows up.

It's all to do with the physiology of the brain. While the brain is physically larger in adults, the actual number of synapses is far greater in infants. 'The profusion of synapses in the child's brain does not indicate knowledge , only a vast potential for learning'. In adults, the bulk of the brain comes from the continuous growth of axons. Axons are projections that grow from neurons when the brain makes connections i.e. when something suddenly makes sense.

So I now have evidence that even very young children can have 'memory without understanding'. As he grows, we can help in the knowledge that 'something is learned when it is both understood and remembered'.

Implications for technology are twofold: Don't let the technology divert the adult learner's attention away from the subject and, conversely, if the student is initially attracted by the technology, gradually divert his attention towards the subject to be learned.

Right, I'm off to find out what the hell 'curds and whey' are!