If you ask any child why they go to school, it would not be surprising if they responded with “to learn.” What is surprising, however, is that many students today are being taught the goals and rewards of learning, and not the process of learning itself. What does it mean to learn? Why has “learning” and “going to school” become synonyms within our society? These are important questions to ask as an educator because the answers will greatly shape, both positively or negatively, the pedagogy used upon students.
When I think of learning, I think of the acquiring of knowledge. Almost like a sponge, a mind that is learning is absorbing information. Filling the sponge may be done by anyone who comes into contact with the student, whether they speak truth or not. Once the sponge is full, the student is labeled “well-educated” and sent on their way through life. This perspective of learning, however accurate it may be, is far from the ideal picture of education. Students cannot be trained only to consume information, but taught how to process and apply it within real experiences.
Reading the work of influential thinkers such as Thomas Jefferson, John Dewey, and Ken Robinson has reshaped the way I think about education. My new view can be summed up with a quote by John Dewey from his book Democracy and Education; “Since education is not a means to living, but is identical with the operation of living a life which is fruitful and inherently significant, the only ultimate value which can be set up is just the process of living itself (Dewey, 1916).”
What this means is that in order to learn, students must experience learning in the same way that they experience life. Schooling should not separate life from learning, or exclude outside experiences from the classroom. Education should teach the skill of acquiring and processing knowledge in all contexts rather than the skill of repeating raw information. This leads to a more complex question: how can educators facilitate this kind of learning in an effective way?
According to Tina Barseghian, students experience learning more when educators teach less. If the student is constantly being instructed through the traditional methods of lecture, book work, and tests, what they are learning is how to survive as a student and not why the information is beneficial to their lives. Although some students may never grow up to use specific skills from subjects such as geometry or chemistry, the skills can be connected to experiences that could enhance other experiences. Basically, the point is that students cannot learn if they remain behind their desks.
Teaching methods should be active and relatable in order to fully engage the student. Ken Robinson argues that children cannot focus on “boring stuff” in school when the outside environment is so fast-paced and stimulating. Therefore, education should incorporate movement, visual stimulation, and freedom within the methods of teaching. Similar to what Deb Roy demonstrates in his Birth of a Word video, we must adjust ourselves to meet the students where they are before development can move forward.
A good method for teaching can be seen within subjects such as music or art, where learning must be hands on. Being an art major myself, I can confirm the theory that experience based learning can benefit all subjects. My ability to think creatively and divergently, thanks to art studies, have helped me in the “process of learning for transfer” between all subjects (Barseghian, 2010). Unfortunately, teachers of other subject areas may struggle with creating a similar hands-on curriculum because they lack divergent thinking themselves. If educators are given the right resources, support, and time, however, school pedagogies can be turned towards a more relatable and engaging direction.
Working in groups, for example, is a great way for students to experience learning in all subject areas. Group collaboration encourages a common goal within a community rather than the creation of standardized individuals. It would also connect learning to real life, because life itself is never experienced alone. When students are taught individually, it separates and weakens the overall potential of the group. Working together, therefore, would create students that are less passive and more beneficial to society.
There are other ways of leading education towards experience based learning, but it results in a pedagogy that is difficult to assess in students. If students can create their own curriculum based on their interests, as seen in the Reggio Emilia approach, how could we enforce accountability in every school? And if students work in groups, how can we observe individual understanding? Barseghian suggests using portfolios and projects rather than standardized tests, but that requires more work from educators. Until society values the quality of education more than the quantity, schools may never put the effort towards deeper learning.
Overall, the educational system is not a complete failure when it comes to helping students learn. What educators need to realize, however, is that pedagogies should integrate the unique experiences in each generation. The process of learning is something that occurs naturally in development, therefore teaching methods should follow what is natural rather than standardized constructions. If educators followed this approach, students may find more accurate connotations for the word “learning”.
References
Barseghian, T. (2012, September 13). How do we define and measure “deeper learning”? [Web log message].
Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/09/how-do-we-define-and-measure-deeper-learning/
Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education. New York, NY: The Free Press.Roy, D. (2011). The birth of a word [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word.html
Robinson, K. (2010). Changing paradigms [Web]. Retrieved from http:// sirkenrobinson.com/skr/watch
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