The MREAC Tool for Learning a Concept

Background

A concept is the "atom" or basic building block of knowledge.

The MREAC is a tool for guiding learning and assessment of concepts.

MREAC QUESTIONS

To MREAC a concept means that the learner can answer the following questions

  • Meaning. What does this concept mean in the context of the physical world (real world)?
  • Rationale. Why is this concept important or useful? Why should I care? How will this help me?
  • Examples. What are examples (2 to 3) of the concept in the physical world? What are non-examples that might easily be confused with the concept?
  • Attributes. What facts are true for nearly every example of the concept? Why are these facts important to know?
  • Connections. How is the concept related to other concepts? How is the concept related to the real world?

Purpose of MREAC

  • Guide a learner to construct their own knowledge.
  • Guide a learner to assess their own knowledge
  • Allows people to discuss what understanding means
  • MREACs should be done "for the learned" so that their knowledge is meaningful (useful + they care).

Why learn to MREAC?

  • You acquire the "collective wisdom of humankind." This feels great!
  • You gain power over own learning. This feels liberating!
  • You learn better in every way. This feels rewarding (getting more for my efforts)!
  • You can apply MREAC in any context: courses, on-the-job, projects, personal life. This feels valuable!

Examples of MREACs

How to create MREACs

Step 1. Find multiple explanations/references. (books , web, teacher, peers). Decide which references to trust the most (e.g. college textbooks are more likely to be correct than the web). Look for patterns (what do most references say).

Step 2. In about 10 minutes, write out your own MREAC. Explain everything in your own words. Only write down things that (a) make sense to you and (b) are useful to you. Use sketches liberally. I recommend doing most MREACs on paper at first so that you can do a lot of drawing. Put your MREAC somewhere where you can easily find it (logbook is great).

Step 3. As you apply the concept during your learning process, continually improve your MREAC. For example, you can

  • add new knowledge
  • fix errors
  • add detail
  • add cool examples ….

Performance Goals (What skilled people do; how you )

  • Voice. Learner uses her own words, ideas, and ways of explaining things
  • Validity. Learner summarizes knowledge from the literature. An expert would say "you know your stuff"
  • Concise. Learner uses minimum information to get the job done (Ruthlessly eliminate all unneeded information)
  • Visual. Learner uses lots of sketches, arrrows, symbols, math that increase conciseness
  • Technical Depth. Learner presents knowledge at the level of a good college textbook.
  • Specific Examples. Learner gives examples from the real world; not vague abstractions.
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