This is a 10-minute post
I’m sitting in bed as I type this, currently unable to sleep. As is increasingly the norm these days I’ve been pondering what appears to be a growing disconnect between my passionate beliefs in learning – and how best to nurture it – and the current state of education – and where it is headed. I’m frustrated with the standoff.
I believe quite strongly in the personalisation of learning, and the significance of each person finding their own way through the educational landscape. Education and formal educational institutions are but two aspects of this, but historically have been seen as having a large (one might say disproportionately large) stake in the learning process. Formal institutions focus on specific models of education and learning, and there is value in that. However of equal value is what happens outside of that – and this I fear is not being afforded ample consideration in the current climate.
In my sleepless state this evening – now almost 2 am – I was growing listless about my purpose in this environment, where institutions are increasingly focussing on core, formally supported central services that paint learners with more of less the same broad brush. But personally, I don’t see things in the macroscopic view; I see the microscopic view – that of the individual learner. I see the microscopic view as being underconsidered, and under-nurtured.
Perhaps this is where my focus should lay – on modelling what is possible for the individual, that they might see the myriad networks and supporting technologies that they might grasp to pursue and explore learning opportunities that aren’t being afforded to them by monolithic systems.
I’m not sure I’m making a vast impact in the wide scheme of things, but if I can help a few people – indeed one person – then perhaps I’ve made a difference after all.
If we’re concerned about the larger learning environment, but think it’s worthwhile to make a difference for just one student, then we exist at the place between macro and micro. My influence on both the larger context and the individual learner are limited. Thus the main area of efficacy is with myself.
Your post helped me realize that this is why I’ve never longed to be an administrator, nor am I suited to focusing on the individual learner, since my reality is that I must deal with them in groups. My focus is on what I (and other instructors) can do, what we can achieve in terms of creating a safe, authentic, valuable learning experience through our teaching.
This is the conclusion I have come to-it will take time but I am convinced that role modeling on individual basis is the way to go.
Influencing change in education {seesmic_video:{“url_thumbnail”:{“value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/8bWyrvfQA6_th1.jpg”}”title”:{“value”:”Influencing change in education ”}”videoUri”:{“value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/SqOAi8DHMx”}}}
Forgive the disjointed nature of the above clip. Bouncing on the birthball and trying not to wake baby took up most of my intelligence.
Many more students say they want a firm pathway and standard rules for learning than say they want freedom and exploration. To create a more open learning environment means struggling not only with administration, but with the students themselves. Our holistic view of learning is not native to most students, many of whom (pardon my cynicism) just want their grade, and want to know that the giving of grades is “fair” (which they interpret as doing the same thing as everyone else, graded as objectively as possible while still keeping in mind their personal conflicts in terms of deadlines).
As a result, I’ve made a distinction between external trappings (the LMS, the “standard” course structure that applies to all) and the internal, negotiable, individualized content and the needs of students. I cater to the latter by providing a wide variety of modes for presentation (text, video, audio, open prompts), and making participation “formal” and guided, but not at all pat in terms of what responses I want. With 200 students at the start of each semester, I can’t do too much in terms of openness without doing it for a whole class of 40, and you’re right — time is a major factor. Also, the recent discussion about Dave Cormier’s class has led me to better understand why students might be more comfortable inside a closed CMS.
That said, I push the administration and the pedagogical envelope consistently, arguing for openness not only for myself but for my colleagues in terms of choice of LMS (or the right to have none at all), and pushing a view of academic freedom that includes the choice of tools. Right now I use the web mostly for creation of presentation items and for my own networks, but I need to at any time be able to walk away from any LMS (as I did with Blackboard) and create a web-based course in absolutely any format. That way, as a teacher, I can be assured that I’m able to provide the best online learning experience for my students, and as the web advances in the usability of its apps, I anticipate being able to open things that much more.
Hi Lisa,
You make a very good point – as usual
I was talking to my wife about this earlier today (tried to get her to comment here but she’s reluctant despite having heaps of experience in teaching, higher ed, a degree in education and is in fact my main inspiration for the concepts of natural learning and homeschooling) – she suggested that I might be trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, and that the vision of learning I’m drumming on about may just not be possible in the current formal educational setting. Do you agree?
All this has caused me to look at the same situation from a slightly different angle and I must admit I’m completely thrown for a loop right now and feeling as though I’m back at square one trying to regain my grasp on things.
That said, it’s also inspired me to reflect on my own experiences at uni.
I remember vividly being the student you describe, wondering only “whether exams would be graded on a curve” or “whether that piece of information will be on the test.” For the bulk of my degree (in Economics) in fact, I was interested only in passing, not learning.
Then in the second half of the very last semester before graduating I had the spark and epiphany where I recognised two subjects I was really passionate about and actively sought to learn more about – above and beyond what was included in the curriculum.
I remember feeling that it was really strange to want to learn, rather than feeling compelled to memorise facts.
In hindsight I mourn the attitude I had about learning during the bulk of my undergraduate degree, because I don’t think I accomplished nearly as much as I should have, or made the most of what could have been a truly enriching experience.
That said, the two instructors I had at the time were instrumental in getting me to think – and I think that’s really critical for educators to bear in mind.
The first instructor was for a course called Ecological and Environmental Economics. She didn’t give us hard and fast rules that could be memorised, but pointed to very complex, real-world problems with no real solutions and which required a much more creative approach. Something in that model made the subject really tangible and real to me, and I think went a long way to making it engaging.
For that matter I had another instructor (in geography) who inspired me to an equal degree. His approach was to look at everything in practical terms and ask how or whether the theories we were learning in various subjects could be applied in real world settings. The course was in Environmental Impact Assessment, and once again focussed on the complex realities of real world situations. His mantra of “once you know what to think, you’ll know how to act” has been a keystone concept in my mind ever since.
His course, once again, was one that I found myself spending more and more time on and gained more and more from as a result.
In both cases I think their impact on my learning experiences thereafter has been far greater than just what was initially focussed on.
As far as educational technology or elearning goes, this was long before that. In fact I remember mentally poo-hoo’ing one of my instructor’s tendencies to put his lecture materials online on a website. In fact I never once went to access them! Then again I hated the course and only took it because it was required by the curriculum – I couldn’t tell you a thing about what was taught.
That example says a lot about lack of ownership or vested interest over the learning experience on my part really. If I didn’t see a purpose or relevance of the subject to me, I didn’t and couldn’t engage with it; if I didn’t engage, I didn’t learn. That’s true to this day in fact.
In re-reading this really long comment, I’m not really sure if I’ve made any points here at all. Though I do think it supports the notion of the importance of egagement and ownership in learning, and that it’s possible for teachers to influence students in really positive, lasting ways despite having large cohorts of students to manage at the same time. I’m really grateful to those instructors for the role they played in my education, because they’ve made a lasting, valuable impression.
Cheers,
Mike