Personal Best Academy

Old Way New Way® Learning

A new twist on overcoming old habits

Learning tools for rapidly improving transfer of learning and skilled performance
 
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This page presents some representative case studies in how Old Way New Way has greatly improved transfer of learning.


ABC TV. Old Way New Way<sup>®</sup>. Sept 18 2002. www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_future/Transcripts/s680275.htm

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Correcting misconceptions

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This learning program, when properly applied

  • will greatly improve students' conceptual understanding
  • will quickly and permanently correct errors and misconceptions
  • will greatly improve transfer of learning and memory
  • increases student flexibility and adaptability to change
  • is being used by both large and small schools, home schools, colleges and universities
  • uses an innovative learning method officially endorsed by the South Australian department of education
  • is backed by published research, case studies and workplace trials
  • is readily adopted by teachers, tutors, home school tutors, trainers, instructors and coaches as part of their professional toolkit
  • can be learned through videos, self-paced courses and workshops ranging from $39 to $395 (courses are still being developed).
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Case studies

Music performance: Using Old Way New Way® to overcome performance anxiety and stress reactions

In 1982 an examiner from the Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) commented in his examination report that Christopher had a problem in the way he raised his shoulders. Whenever a stressful passage was attempted he would unconsciously tense his shoulder muscles causing his shoulders to lift which adversely affected his playing.

His music teacher over the next three years from time to time used a method of tapping him on his shoulders in order to get him to relax and release the tension in his shoulders. However, in 1985 a different AMEB examiner again made a comment in his report about his raised shoulders. It appeared that the raised shoulders had now become habitual and had become a permanent part of his playing style.

Worse than that, his music teacher pointed out that this persistent habit would stop Christopher becoming the really good pianist that he was capable of being, unless it was eradicated. The problem was a great concern not only to Christopher but also to his parents.

In October 1985 Christopher's father approached Personal Best Systems for assistance. Paul, our facilitator, visited Christopher's home and talked through the problem with him and his parents in detail.

Paul explained to Christopher and his parents why the raised shoulders had proved so difficult to correct, followed by a brief outline of how this problem would now be corrected using Old Way New Way®.

Christopher then took part in a 20-minute session during which Paul helped him recognise when he was actually raising his shoulders while playing and then replaced this habit with a new habit - relaxed and tension-free shoulders while playing.

After this brief treatment Paul explained that Christopher could now be expected to play with relaxed shoulders 80% of the time, or better. Furthermore, on those 20% of occasions when he would fall back into his raised shoulders style he would detect this by himself, without needing outside assistance, 95% of the time it happened.

Christopher and his parents, who quietly observed the entire treatment, were then given a simple follow-up routine to deal with those 20% of occasions when Christopher would revert to his old way of playing. His parents monitored Christopher's playing during the next three weeks and whenever a lapse occured took him through the prescribed brief routine.

In a letter dated October 21, 1985, Christopher's parents were happy to report that,

"We would like to express our sincere thanks for what you did in helping Chris overcome a postural problem in his piano playing. Your solution to his problem seemed so simple, yet two months after your intervention treatment the problem appears to be permanently 'fixed'. The proof to us of a permanent solution came recently when he played to a public audience and there was no sign of a recurrence of the problem."

Christopher subsequently went on to complete his music degree and also won the university piano prize.

Year 7 mathematics improves with Old Way New Way®

Kingston State Primary School teacher Karen Parkinson was faced with a problem early in 1987 common to Year 7 teachers.

In her class was Vince, a boy with learning problems that would make his entry to high school next year difficult because his areas of weakness were in basic mathematics procedures and he consistently failed mathematics operations.

Karen recalls, "I was desperate because I knew Vince could be helped but that I hadn't done much helping so far."

She decided to try something new. "I decided to try Old Way New Way®, a method suggested for spelling by our lecturer Dr Paul Baxter at Mt Gravatt College of Advanced Education (now a campus of Griffith University). He said it had broad applications to other curriculum areas, too. The result was stunning. Vince learned to multiply correctly in one lesson."

"That instant success surprised me but it did wonders for Vince because he saw himself doing things that gave him the right answer straight off. Even better, he continues to get the right answer."

Note. The fact that Vince continued to get the right answer shows that not only did he learn a new way of doing his calculations but from then on he also understood what he was doing.

Adult spelling

Many tutors working in adult literacy programmes are often faced with learners who are showing limited progress despite everyone's best efforts. In all other respects the learner is normal, well motivated and capable of learning. In respect of spelling problems however such learners are common in adult literacy.

Not surprising then to discover that in many cases despite years of learning and the exposure to a variety of different tutors discouragement slowly begins to pervade the effort, as nothing appears to work.

All of the 'tried and true' techniques have been used, look and say, phonics, word patterns, and morphographs all without any apparent measurable degree of success.

This was the case of Jonathan, a mature learner in Galway when Frank Monaghan, a literacy organiser in Galway, Ireland, introduced him to the Old Way New Way® technique.

Following a few brief workshops with Jonathan he was immediately experiencing success and able to self-correct.

Now after a few months and just over the summer holiday period Jonathan has been able to confirm that the OldWay NewWay method works for him.

Jonathan is now able to remember the spelling of words months after being learned, which previously would have been forgotten in hours.

More importantly it shifts the locus of control to himself so that with very little help from a tutor he can work on his own spellings allowing him to focus on writing poetry which he enjoys so much.

It is with a degree of pleasure that Frank, through the evidence of the learner Jonathan, recommends the Old Way New Way® system to other literacy programmes.

Reversals in young children

Jo Baker was feeling depressed about the number of children with spelling problems in her Grade 3 class.

She was aware that many children go through a period where they reverse letters and numerals like "b's", "d's" and "3's", but some children like Susan never seemed to grow out of it despite her best efforts and the support of parents at home.

When she mentioned the problem to the visiting lecturer who was supervising novice teachers, he suggested that she try a new method called Old Way New Way®. Jo was intrigued though somewhat sceptical but nevertheless consented to a demonstration being arranged for the following day.

With Jo observing every step, the lecturer (also the PBS facilitator) sat down and chatted informally with Susan and asked her to show him some of her written work. He then asked her to write some words that he knew would reveal any reversals she might have. Susan's spelling efforts showed several consistent misspellings including several letter reversals. This confirmed the teacher's impressions and the evidence from the child's prior written work.

This initial error diagnosis was followed by a typical Old Way New Way® correction for several of the letter reversals, all with positive results. Jo was perplexed by the speed with which Susan appeared to overcome her problem with these letters and the apparent simplicity of the correction method.

Somewhat sceptical that the correction would endure, she was pleased to report two weeks later that Susan no longer reversed those particular letters. Jo said she would like very much to learn more about Old Way New Way® and she subsequently attended a training workshop designed for practising teachers.

Correcting misconceptions in science and maths

Roger Henderson, Principal of the all-new William Light R-12 School in Adelaide, South Australia, is in the middle of shortlisting an impressive list of applicants for senior positions but he still has time to talk to me about Old Way New Way® and its derivative, the Conceptual Mediation Program (CMP).

"Its working very well here. We use it in Years 8, 9 and 10 to teach mathematics, chemistry and physics. In fact, I'm so convinced of its effectiveness that in this new school which is still being constructed all our Year 8 teachers will receive professional development in the CMP. Eventually we'll put it through the entire school," he explains enthusiastically.

He goes on, "Harry Lyndon was a great source of information and inspiration during the three years when we were introducing the CMP at Plympton High School. We learned a lot about the subtleties of effectively using such a powerful learning method."

"Why don't you go and see Old Way New Way® and the CMP in action in one of our classrooms?" he offers. "David Wilkinson has a Year 9 mathematics class after the break and I'm sure he'd be happy to have you sit in and see how its done."

David meets me in the staff room and tells me how he's using Old Way New Way® to help his son, a player for the Under 15 Redbacks cricket team, improve his batting and bowling. We walk together to his classroom and he introduces me to the students. Its 30 degrees Celcius, there's no breeze and everyone is feeling the heat.

While the class is settling down David shows me a list of six misconceptions revealed in a pre-test of students' understanding of the mathematical meaning of "area" that he will deal with in today's lesson.

Once David has got every student's attention, he starts the lesson by asking several students to read the mathematical definition of "area" that is written up on the blackboard. After pointing out the key features of this definition and discussing them, he then asks them to learn the definition using the "look, say, cover, write, check times five" procedure.

This involves students in writing down the definition, saying it out loud to themselves, covering it with their hand, writing it from memory and then checking to see if they were correct. This five-step sequence is then repeated another four times, making five repeats in all.

Some of the students complain about the heat and suggest that it would be good to have the rest of the day off, but they perservere with the task and eventually complete it. David explains to me that while students find 5LSCWC somewhat boring it is a very effective method for quickly committing new knowledge into memory.

While students are working David goes on to explain that even though his students have not received prior instruction in the concept of "area" this year, they nevertheless have formed their own ideas on what "area" is. Some of these ideas are in fact misconceptions and have to be corrected so that subsequent learning is based on a correct rather than an incorrect knowledge base.

The prevalence of basic misconceptions is widespread in many students despite careful teaching to try to ensure that they "get it right" the first time. Inattention, lapses of concentration, personal problems, lack of motivation and other preoccupations are just some of the reasons why initial learning does not always "take", leaving many students with a raft of misconceptions throughout their school years and even into tertiary studies.

Misconceptions are found among students of all ability levels. These misconceptions in their understanding of fundamental concepts interfere with their subsequent learning progress. Any attempt to teach a new correct idea over the top of a misconception results in the accelerated forgetting of the new idea.

David continues the lesson by uncovering a list on the blackboard that lists the six main misconceptions of the mathematical meaning of "area." He explains to the class that these are some of their own ideas on what "area" means. I note that he does not tell them that they are "wrong." "Lets look at this first definition," he says. "Patricia, you said that 'area' was 'the space inside something'. Some others also had that definition. Take a look at our original definition of "area" and read it to us, please?"

"Area is the amount of surface enclosed within certain boundaries," reads Patricia. "Its measured in square units - square centimetres, square metres, hectares." "How does that differ from your own definition of 'area', Patricia?" asks David. She hesitates a while. "Read your own definition again," suggests David. "Area is the space inside something," says Patricia. "And now read out the other definition," asks David. Patricia reads the definition. "Now, what's the difference between your definition and the other definition of area," asks David. "My definition is about space and the other is about surface,' she volunteers. "That's right! And what do you mean by 'space' inside something?" asks David. "Its got to do with the contents of something," explains Patricia. "Yes. And 'area' is not about content but about surfaces," offers David.

David continues, "Now, read your own definition of area again to us, Patricia." "Area is the space inside something," reads Patricia. "Now read the other definition again," asks David. "Area is the amount of surface area within certain boundaries. Its measured in square units - square centimetres, square metres, hectares," says Patricia. So, what's the difference between your old definition and this new definition of area? asks David again.

I think I'm starting to get the idea of how a whole-class Old Way New Way® mathematics lesson goes. David continues by asking another student to read their own definition of 'area' which is, "the distance between an enclosed object." Like Patricia's incorrect notion of 'area', this new misconception is also shared by a number of other students and is handled in the same way. Other misunderstandings about 'area' include, "the inside of a square", "the amount of space inside a shape", "the amount of room in an enclosed shape", and "the amount of space around something." Eventually, each of these six shared misconceptions of 'area' is dealt with in turn by having students repeatedly compare their own definition with the correct mathematical definition.

In this way, students' misconceptions become their "old ways" and they are offered a "new way" of understanding the concept of "area." When the differences between their old and new way become clear they are asked to practise using their new definition of "area" and relate it to their other knowledge by writing six different sentences using their new meaning of "area." This completes the lesson.

I ask David what advantages this method has over conventional re-teaching to correct students' errors and misconceptions. "There are a number of important advantages over conventional re-teaching," he explains. "First, while we cover less content initially, because students understand the material better first time we subsequently have to spend less time going over old ground so we end up covering more content in the long run."

"Second, their level of conceptual understanding ends up being so much higher than with conventional teaching and re-teaching. In Year 9 we are handling concepts that are normally not introduced until Year 12 and the kids are coping well with it. On average they score around 80% to 90% on their summative tests." "What kind of testing do you do?" I ask, thinking that perhaps this involves less demanding testing like simpler recognition tests. "We test for understanding and application and not just for recognition and ability to recall information," he explains.

"The third advantage of Old Way New Way® is that, because their understanding is so much better, their interest levels are maintained for much longer and we can develop a particular topic over an extended period. For example, after three months teaching about "forces" we were able to take them to a very advanced level of understanding; under conventional teaching students get confused which makes them easily distracted and disruptive after only two or three weeks on that topic."

He adds, "The fourth advantage is that students are less disruptive in class. Because they understand the material being taught, or at least have the means by which they can address their confusions, they are able to concentrate longer on their work and actually work harder. And because they achieve better grades they feel that the extra effort that this involves is justified. All students want to learn - that's why they are at school. Old Way New Way® enables to them to do just that and do it better. A students' disruptiveness is very often simply an indication of their confusion and frustration in the learning process. They are protesting their lack of success and their inability to understand."

"What about parents - how do they feel about this program" I ask. "We have excellent parental support for the program. Parents see that their children are achieving consistently better so they are 100% behind the program," David explains.

My next question is, "What about the students themselves? What do they say about Old Way New Way® and the CMP?" "We've collected student comments about the program and they all say that the effort required to use Old Way New Way® is worth it because it helps them learn much better and they will therefore continue to use it. The point is that Old Way New Way® requires them to think. Thinking is hard work. The difference with this method is that when students make the effort they can be sure to get good results, whereas with conventional re-teaching they still have to expend the effort but it will take them very much longer to get results and even then you can't be sure it will work."

My last question is, "What about you, David? Old Way New Way® and the CMP are so radically different from conventional re-teaching styles. What did you have to do to change your own teaching style to something so different from how you used to teach? Don't they say that old habits die hard?" David explains, "Yes, I had to use Old Way New Way® to change my own teaching style. Twenty-eight years of teaching tend to produce some fairly ingrained teaching skills and although I knew that I had to change and what I wanted to do, I always slipped back into my old teaching style every time I walked into a classroom. That is, until I mediated my old and new ways of teaching."

"Where do you go from here, David?" I asked. "Because Old Way New Way® and the CMP are so successful we would like to become a Best Practice School or a Centre of Excellence school for the method. Plans are underway to prepare a school-based professional development course for other teachers interested in learning about Old Way New Way® and the CMP. There's a long way still to go but we've certainly got a successful track record without equal anywhere and that's a good foundation to build on."

Update, August 1998. A Year 11 class of students who have studied science using Old Way New Way® are now so far advanced in their level of understanding that they will be permitted to take the year 12 examinations this year.

Teaching spelling and maths: Reducing teacher stress

April, 1985. Cheryl Wilsdon teaches grades R-2. Her pupils are 5 - 7.5 years of age. Old Way New Way® has made a tremendous difference to her professionally and to the children in her care. She tells her story in her own words. "When using Old Way New Way® I see myself performing the ideal role of the teacher, that is, as a facilitator of learning."

"I see myself as a powerful facilitator. I see and know that I'm effective because Old Way New Way® is. That gives me, as a person and as a teacher, a great positive charge. When I get this great positive charge the kids feel it, see it, know it and they are also 'infected'. This makes for a good relationship and good feeling between us all. I'm seeing that when kids feel good about themselves and what they're doing, they offer more."

"It's so simple! The kids catch on to the method easily. They like doing it. Young children don't find the procedure boring, even though adults might think that they would get bored with it. The feeling of complete control, competence and the sense of achievement overcomes boredom."

"If I tell them, 'I want to test you on spelling', that arouses no anxiety anymore. 'Test' has become a comfortable word for the children. This is because I don't judge them anymore. There is no 'failure'. 'Right-wrong', 'correct-incorrect' don't exist in the class. Its just Old Way and New Way and both are positive."

"The more you do it, the more you want to do it, because you see that it works."

"I started using Old Way New Way® with the whole class straight away. I spent one lesson just teaching them the procedure. After some initial supervision the children soon became self-administering. Now older children help the younger ones, to check that they follow the procedure correctly."

"I'm doing Old Way New Way® with lists of words most commonly used by children in their writing. I test 25 words, compile lists of which children have what words as Old Ways, then begin trials."

"Initially I wondered how I'd keep track of recording when I'd done an Old Way New Way® trial and when to do subsequent trials. It all looked like an impossible task. However, because of the simplicity of the method and its guaranteed results, I no longer use the problem of recording trials as an excuse for neglecting Old Way New Way®."

"The greatest thing about Old Way New Way® is the self-correction children do. Its such an amazing thing to say to a kid,'can you see any Old Ways? ... Now, can you do the New Way for me?' and then they select their Old Way and do the New Way all by themselves without me doing a thing except ask those two questions."

"Old Way New Way® is so much less stressful for teachers. I no longer get frustrated when some children have so many errors to correct. The notion of a 'dumb child' disappears and instead you know that they simply have more resistant Old Ways."

Correcting errors of an entire class, all at once

August, 1982. Old Way New Way® is used on a trial basis with a whole class.

A class of 20 Year 5 and 6 pupils were given the Westwood Spelling Test. Five words misspelt by the whole class were selected for correction. The words were, 'beautiful', 'orchestra', 'equally','appreciate' and 'familiar'.

An additional 3 words were chosen from the class list of words misspelt by the majority of the class. These words were, 'through', 'usual' and 'statue'.

One Old Way New Way® trial was conducted on each of these words and pupils were retested for recall at intervals of one week, two weeks and eight weeks post-trial.

No practice of the selected words was conducted by the teacher and the students were not informed of the intended reviews. The three reviews were conducted without prior notification to the pupils that a test was to be given on any particular day.

The results were most encouraging. After one week without practice the modal score (most frequent score) was 7 out of 8. The distribution was as follows:

8 8 8
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
6 6 6 6 6 6
5
3 3

After two weeks the mode was still 7 out of 8, with the following distribution:

8 8
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
6 6 6
5 5
4 4 4
3
2

After a further six weeks, which included the September school holiday period, the mode was 5 and the distribution was as follows:

8
7 7
6 6 6 6 6
5 5 5 5 5 5
4 4
3
2

These results are especially noteworthy because they were obtained after only one Old Way New Way® correction session per word with a whole class lasting no longer than 5 to 10 minutes.

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