Just a drop from a knowledge-emptied cup.

“When does learning take place?” This question has been asked in so many (if not all) of our classes. Lecturers then proceed to tell us it happens “in the zone of proximal development” or “when knowledge is deconstructed and reconstructed”. Very big words for something so simple and natural. We start learning in the womb – no teacher there to create an “optimal learning environment”. Just the safety and security that our mothers provide.

Therefor I have to wonder sometimes if we are not over complicating these things. Maybe all we need to really be good teachers are respect and understanding for our learners and a little bit of creativity to set their minds free from the constraints that have been placed upon them by this society that strives to take the fun out of learning.

We need to make learning fun again in order to engage learners. When children play, they are relaxed, curious and even adventurous. It is in these early years, that most of our learning takes place (and is most effective) and yet somehow we have convinced ourselves that it is best to discourage children from playing.

In many of the so-called leading educational countries, children go to school from the age of four. They learn how to read and write in two languages before they are five years old. And somehow that has become acceptable, because “We live in a very competitive country” and “We just want our kid to have the best opportunities”. As a result, children spend up to eight hours a day at school.

However, at the current rate of development of knowledge and technology, spending eight hours a day at school from the age of four, is simply not enough. They will never learn all the content. There are not enough hours in a day to do so.

I believe that there is a shift in focus needed. We need to stop sucking the joy out of learning by forcing kids to study content that will be irrelevant in one or two years’ time. We need to move away from this idea that we can simply “teach to the test” and expect learners to just be sponges slurping up all the knowledge that we as teachers spill out of our little knowledge-filled cups. It’s archaic and insulting to the intelligences of our learners.

We need to start teaching learners how to utilise new technologies and adapt to changing knowledge environments and then give them the freedom to explore and engage in the content that interests them.  Maybe we should even make room in those knowledge-filled cups of ours to learn a thing or two from our learners. Just a suggestion.

Teaching kids how to fish.

This week we were asked to think about the possibilities of tech-driven, self-directed, distance learning. It took me a while (in my general sleep-deprived state) to figure out exactly what all of that meant, so, being the nice person that I am, I’ll break it down to layman’s terms.

Distance learning is a concept that is well-rooted in our South-African society and even more so in the international community. Physical access to universities and other learning institutions are simply not always possible (or even convenient) and thus correspondence- or distance learning was born. The process of receiving resources through the postal system has however become very problematic in South Africa. With almost constant issues, such as strikes, “go-slow’s” and transportation problems, our mailing system has become extremely unreliable. Private courier services are benefitting financially from this, but students are losing.

To address the afore mentioned problem, some institutions are now resorting to digital resources such as electronic textbooks, telematics classrooms and online courses. This therefore forms the tech-driven arm of the equation.

Up until this point, everything made a lot of sense to me. The concepts and methodology behind them are intuitive and are being implemented in a lot of instances in our country already. It is the concepts of self-driven learning that took me a while to get a good grasp on.

Self-directed learning basically means that instead of working from a set curriculum with predetermined topics and outcomes, learners are now asked what they think they should learn or what they are interested in learning about. These topics are then explored by the learners themselves. They normally make use of a question as a guiding principle and then do their own research and learning in order to answer the question that they posed to themselves. This method of learning makes very little use of teachers, as all learning are student motivated and teachers are seen primarily as another resource, just like the library and internet.

This sounds almost too good to be true – learners that take control of their own learning and that are intrinsically motivated by their interests and thirst for knowledge?

Well, it kind of is. Although this education method worked in one or two instances in the USA, the vast majority of learners at school level in South Africa, do not have the resources or self-discipline to make this a viable option for the majority of schools.  

However, I do believe that this model of learning will gain popularity over the next few years and that it will definitely play a big role in the way that we think about education in the future. Having learners determine their own curriculum based on their interests and then expecting them to develop the skills to implement said curriculum in their own setting, is effectively teaching learners how to learn instead of what to learn. 

In a world where the amount of knowledge is expanding at an ever increasing pace, this skillset will prepare learners much more efficiently to function independently and effectively. I’m really excited about this model of teaching and I plan to incorporate elements of it in my own classroom in the very near future.

A 90's kid, obsessed with an iPod

Using social media in the classroom is not something that I grew up with. We had textbooks, notebooks and pencils and we turned out alright, didn't we? 

Well, no. And the reason for my answer is right here in the opening paragraph: We claim to be tech savvy, but when it comes down to the push, we kick against change. We have done things in a certain way and we wish to continue in the same manner, because we (the 90's kids) have a love-hate relationship with technology. We literally saw the rise and fall of several technologies and we desperately try to cling to some kind of stability. This attitude needs to change. 

With so many wonderful applications at our disposal and a very eager learner cadre, it would be a natural choice to include more and more social media applications and other technologies in our classrooms. Provided of course that we have the resources to do so. But let's live in fairyland for a moment and fantasize about a few of the possibilities at our disposal.

In the business studies or economics classroom, the events of the outside world play a big part in how we think about certain concepts and systems. Apps such as Flipboard can be utilized to bring focused content from the economic and business spheres into our classrooms. This can lighten up any dreaded piece of theory with a real-world application. Also, teaching learners how to use these apps, empowers them to always be in the know.

Another great app to use for enrichment or reinforcement in the economics and business subjects, would be the Khan Academy app. It explains a wide variety of concepts through use of videos (engaging both the auditory and visual learning styles) and it is quite user friendly.

In another field, Mathematical Literacy, apps are a bit more on the scarce side. This is mainly due to the fact that not many countries cater for this subject and therefor the development of it is lacking a bit. However, I have been able to track down a few apps that hosts past exam papers and there are so many apps focusing on interesting mathematical concepts and patterns, that the development of an exclusive application would be redundant.

Incorporating sites such as YouTube and TED into your classroom, will serve to illuminate and illustrate topics where the traditional chalkboard lacks depth and flexibility.

Let's be clear though: Social media and technology cannot and must not be able to replace the role of the teacher. We must become more flexible in our approach to the use of technologies and social media in our classrooms, for we need to prepare learners to deal with an ever-changing world and rapidly expanding body of knowledge, whilst still remaining teachers (and not becoming robots).

As a 90's kid, the nostalgia of listening to a mixed cassette tape (or even a CD these days), will never escape me. However, I do realize and understand that my iPod has a far greater capacity and reliability. Thus, it is my opinion that teaching learners to respect and cherish the past and, at the same time, to eagerly search for the opportunities that future technologies may bring, should form a vital part of our digital pedagogies.