A Lego covered Rubik's Cube! |
In the previous blog post, I explained how I used the
Trivium to help me learn to solve a Rubik’s cube. When my son asked me to help
him learn, I wondered how I would be able to teach him. He was only 6 years old, and I knew nothing
about the cube. But after about a month
of practice, I was able to solve a 3x3 on my own. Now I needed to help my son learn.
The second tool I used to help my son solve a Rubik’s cube
is Apprenticeship. I spent hours
learning the steps to solving a cube, memorizing algorithms, and solving the
cube, one layer at a time. By this time, he had already found some strategies
to solve the white face by himself. I
let him solve the white face. Then I
showed him over and over again how to solve the second layer. Finally, he was able to take a little
ownership. I sat beside him while he
practiced the second layer. He asked questions. When he was able to solve this layer without
any help, I showed him the next step.
Over and over again. We chanted
algorithms. We looked for patterns. (In the final step to solving a cube, there
is a yellow 2x2 square that spins around the top layer as we are moving the
cube through the algorithm. It is fun to watch, and if the square disappears,
we know that we have not completed the algorithm correctly.)
An apprentice to a blacksmith will not start making nails on
his first day. Instead he will stand
beside the master blacksmith and watch him maybe thousands of times. Gradually the master will start giving the
apprentice a little more responsibility.
Eventually the apprentice will be able to make a nail, while the master
blacksmith will continue to make horse shoes.
This process is one of my favorite tools for teaching. It takes a long time. It takes a lot of work. But the rewards are infinite.
Apprenticeship works for more than just Rubik’s cubes and
blacksmithing. I use this tool with my
daughter when she studies Language and
Writing. When we study the English
Language, I model how to parse sentences into parts of speech. We have a series of questions to ask. For example, the sentence might be: “ Jonny solved
a Rubik’s Cube.” We would ask: Who
solved a Rubik’s Cube? Jonny: Subject Noun.
What is being said about Jonny? Jonny solved: Verb transitive. Solved What? Cube:Direct Object. What kind of cube? Rubik’s: Possessive Noun Adjective. When I first exposed my daughter to this
series of questions, we started very simply.
The sentences only had two words.
“Suzy sang.” I told my daughter I
would not allow her to say anything. She
just needed to listen to me over and over again. Who sang? Suzy: Subject noun. What is being said about Suzy? Suzy sang:
verb intransitive. I repeated this
pattern many times. Tommy danced. Who danced? Tommy: Subject noun. What is being said about Tommy? Tommy danced:
verb intransitive. After about the 10th
sentence, my daughter finally said, “Mom, can I do it please?” And you know what? She did it perfectly.
I also use apprenticeship when I teach my daughter to
write. I model making keyword outlines,
writing from the keyword outline, adding dress ups like adverbs and adjectives,
varying sentence openers, etc. When we
first started using Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)’s writing
program, I wrote most of the assignment myself, with my daughter sitting at my
side. Andrew Pudewa, IEW’s founder,
says, “You can’t help your child too much.”
The teacher in me
feels like this is cheating. It
isn’t. Of course, I do not let my
daughter take credit for my work, but I want to model good writing so that
students can learn from a master. Just
like in English Grammar, my daughter started out by just observing, then
gradually took ownership of her own writing.
This fuzzy picture shows my son's first cube that he solved entirely by himself! |
Apprenticeship is a beautiful and effective way to teach. My
children learn with me. They know that
learning is a lifelong process because they see me continuing to learn. My
children are better writers, readers, and thinkers because of the way we learn
together.
On Easter day 2017, my six year old son solved his first 3x3
completely on his own. Later that month
he had major surgeries and several complications. He was sick for months, so he decided to take
a hiatus from solving Rubik’s cubes. He has just recently started to solve them
again. I will continue to sit beside
him, cheering him on.
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