Patterns - Module 3

As a teacher I use patterning as a tool for initial understanding and then memory retention. Being able to break down a topic into pieces of a pattern allows for students to comprehend the whole easier and then also be able to retain the information. The human brain can quickly remember 7 pieces of information. So if you have a 14-digit number you are out of luck. But break it down into 7 pieces of a pattern and you will remember it.

My selected topic was oceanography. For this assignment I decided to focus on the water cycle. I picked this because of the strong pattern it already has.

The water cycle is always presented as a cycle. It is often shown with arrows moving in a circle. As this way of presenting the movement of water has been a standard of all learning forever it is obviously a tried and true method. It easily showcases to learners that water is not created or lost but simply moved from one spot to another. I definitely believe that presenting water as a cycle helps maintain the idea of continual movement with no loss.

             The only hindrance I found to presenting the movement of water on our planet in a circular pattern is that young learners tend to keep the circular shape regardless of where the water is moving. For example the image below is a very typical diagram taken from an Environmental Education for kids website (http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/groundwater/watercycle.htm)

But it becomes so engrained in their heads that adjustments can’t be made.  If teachers only rely on the movement of water as a cycle like the one above it becomes difficult to add in factors like “does evaporation happen when it is not sunny?” or “ is rain the only way water comes back to the ground from the sky?”         

            So while it is an excellent pattern to rely on and I know I will continue to teach water movement as a cycle I think teachers need to enhance or tweek it a bit to move beyond the basics.

            If I were to reinvent a pattern for the movement of water I would take advantage of the zigzag line. When reading the Sparks of Genius chapters I found myself continually staring at the re-invented periodic tables on page 131. I wanted to try and use the pattern from the 1886 Reynolds version on my water movement diagram. I came up with this (please pardon the drawing skills)

Keeping the same basic image (my Paint version) as the one above I traded out the pink circle arrows for pink zigzag lines. I like that it allows for a different perspective to be seen but I am not sure it still conveys all the ways water CAN move throughout the Earth. But my next attempt to draw lines yielded this:

Also not helpful for learning. In fact I think this last image would qualify as a huge hindrance to kids. It is messy and rather chaotic.

But if we look back at all three images together I think a series of PowerPoint slides would come together perfectly. As a teacher I would start with the basic water cycle. This would probably be a review anyway as most kids grow up with this from kindergarten. Then I would explain its drawbacks. Show the image of the diagonal lines and ask them what they think this image conveys. And then same with the chaotic lines. By leading them into it the last image becomes less confusing. Which is the idea behind patterning for learning!