In our society a geek is a person who is intensely interested in a particular field or hobby.
Because geeks are so involved with their interests they are often in a state of Flow, according to Mihaly Csikszentmihaly (chick-sent-me-high-ee), author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
G.E.E.K. is also an acronym for a system, or set of procedures, that allows you to teach any concept to the point of mastery. The G.E.E.K. system is an effective teaching system particularly because it ensures that learning is the reinforcer, or motivator, for students to continue in the tasks that are assigned to them. Educators are always looking for ways to motivate students. Wouldn’t it be better if students were motivated by the learning itself rather than by points that lead to some external token such as toys or sweets? I have used the G.E.E.K. model to develop many different courseware products and their popularity proves the success of the G.E.E.K. model.
G.E.E.K. stand for:
Generalizations, Examples, Experiences, and Knowledge of Results.
Once you have developed the Interactive Concept Map (iCM) for your knowledge domain, the G.E.E.K. model should be applied for every concept you want to teach. For example, if you are teaching fractals, do you have a clear definition (generalization) of a fractal? Do you have clear examples? Do you provide an activity (experiences) that, when applied, would indicate to the student if they know the concept? And finally, is the feedback (knowledge of results), immediate, so that the student can use this information to correct their misunderstanding?
If you have any questions about the G.E.E.K. model, please comment.
