The Humane Representation of Thought [video]
Call me obtuse and change my view please:<p>I'm actually quite interested in this spatial learning thing. I had an aboriginal acquaintance who explained to me how his culture would attach meaning to places and even physical orientation (North South East West etc). However, it has been so far very very difficult for me to wrap my head around that. Visual notation imo, has been the most efficient way of communicating between humans. It also helps a lot in understanding.<p>A lot of what he says harks back to a 1980s/1990s/early 2000s style of teaching with an increasing use of "aids". Using props to teach math is a bit silly (well, asides from geometry, which is inherently spatial). I really cannot see how we can represent the learning of linear algebra in a dynamic spatial manner.<p>How for example, would one represent higher dimensional spaces spatially, when you really are limited to only 3 dimensions in real life? I am aware that Iron Man style projection tech may actually help in visualizing it, but again, that's a visual aspect of learning, not spatial. The most efficient way of doing so unfortunately is still in algebraic notation.<p>Perhaps I'm doubtful because the use of props, spaces, songs, moving your body etc has never worked for me in school. Ever. Can anyone share any studies done on the use of these cheesy 1980s-1990s educational aids (the closest analogue to all the things Brett mentioned) in aiding learning?<p>EDIT: If you're interested, there's been a good book that I read, in attempt to wrap my head around the concept (however to no avail) - Wisdom Sits in Places.