What are the benefits
of constructive surfing ?
The benefits include, but are not limited to, the following:
Conceptual vocabulary. Constructive surfing helps students of English acquire a high-level conceptual vocabulary that can accelerate their maturation to abstract thinking, inductive reasoning, and help develop effective writing and communication skills.
Cross-disciplinary learning. Constructive surfing teaches students to think laterally. A user can review examples of the construct “efficiency” in the field of architecture, then surf horizontally within the matrix to review efficiency considerations in medicine, engineering, or manufacturing. This pattern reinforces their understanding , and exposes learners to new ideas, fields, and vocational paths.
Experiential learning. This innovation provides a structure for an experiential pedagogy that is guided by one’s own natural curiosity (A wise man once said we should all set out to learn at least three new things every day). Constructive surfing makes that challenge easy, fun, and integrated.
Self-paced Discovery learning. With Constructive surfing learners are in control of their own pace and direction. Once a construct is grasped in one matrix cell, the user can view examples in other disciplines and/or at higher levels of difficulty. Users advance through the Web pages at their own pace. They can explore the upper-level material whenever they feel they are ready, or when curious.
Multi-dimensional learning. The matrix content can provide links to a rich, diverse knowledge base for students to explore. Consider a user surfing the construct, “code.” At an appropriate level of difficulty, the user navigates exemplary materials about the Ten Commandments, Hammurabi’s Code, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, initiation rites of Masai warriors, and the Hippocratic oath, among others. This diversity of material provides a multidimensional perspective not always found in textbooks, fostering an open mind to the contributions of all cultures and civilizations.