The Future of the Science of Learning: Learning as an Active Process

If we look back at how far we've come in the last 25 years or so, one can see tremendous leaps forward in terms of both understanding how mind and brain function works and deeper understanding of teaching and learning techniques to improve the educational experience.  The authors of How People Learn cited role of prior knowledge, brain development, early experiences, technology and many others as having a significant impact on the learner's ability to gain and apply knowledge.  Two of these factors - learning as an active process and learning for understanding - caught my attention as being particularly meaningful.  I believe that  the future of learning lies in the ability to fuse the concrete with the abstract.  For this blog post, I will be looking at two examples of that fusion in action:  problem-based learning and service learning.

As a part of my graduate assistantship, I am doing a benchmarking exercise looking at graduate research at other institutions.  One standout theme to me has been the focus on both problem-based and service learning.  Problem-based education, as we have learned, is an instructional approach that promotes the student as problem solver, using real life scenarios in order to take the lessons in the classroom and apply them outside of that realm.  Service Learning, on the other hand, is similar in the real-life problem solving aspect, but it has another component that stresses service and community.  While we have discussed much about K-12 education, I was intrigued to see how many higher education and, more specifically, graduate education programs that are using this approach for a wide variety of purposes.  For instance, two programs at Emory University stood out for their usage of these approaches.  PRISM, for example, is a National Science Foundation funded endeavor that pairs graduate student researchers with middle and high school teachers to help develop lessons utilizing problem-based learning (PBL) and investigative case-based learning (ICBL) for the math and science classroom.  A second community fellows program (akin to Lehigh's Community Fellows Program), partners students with non-profit, service organizations to tackle issues in the community-at-large using lessons learned in the classroom.  In all of these scenarios, students are given the opportunity to see first hand the applicability of their skills, and also to gain a sense of pride and accomplishment in using those skills for the betterment of the society around them.

Furthermore, problem-based and service learning approaches allow for creative ways to reach non-traditional learners and learners with special needs.  Whereas rote memorization and testing can leave out a portion of the population that may experience dyslexia and a variety of other conditions that affect the processing of written information, lessons that have an active component can help reach students beyond the textbook.  Even for students who do not have the challenge of a learning disability, active lessons are more interesting, capture the imagination of students, and engender a sense of teamwork and pride that helps solidify the lesson in a student's mind.  Students who have projects such as these can also find their individual approach to problem solving and lending their specific talents to an organization, thereby individualizing and playing to the strengths of a wide variety of learner types.

More and more, teachers must begin to understand what they are teaching their students in terms of usefulness, understanding, and applicability.  In a society driven by standardized tests and subsidies for success, it seems a tall task to ask teachers to refocus their efforts not on the facts and figures that dominate such tests to the information's practical application and usefulness in their lives.  However, I see this as the challenge of future learning.  If we find ways in which we can engage students in these ways - through active, hands-on, translatable skills - we will be able to reach more students and create more engaged members of society.  What better role of education than to prepare the thinkers, dreamers, and leaders?  If we are not doing that, then we must move from this standardized test culture to one that promotes students ability to think, dream, and lead.

Technology to Support Learning: 11.12.09

While many think of technology as a recent development - a post-1950s creation that is heavily computer-oriented - the reality is that technology and the human history of technology usage is much longer and more complex.  Technology, as defined by Merriam Webster, is "a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge".  For the purpose of education, educational technology is the way in which we accomplish the task of teaching and learning using those technical processes, methods, or knowledge.  According to the presentation, Educational technology is "the entirety of ideas, methods, and devices used in the process of human learning."  From slide shows to SMART boards, each methodology involving an innovation, tools, and/or a craft counts as educational technology.  While there exists a plethora of these innovations and mechanisms to promote technology in education, there are three main characteristics that must run through any decision and implementation of technology in the classroom.  Our technologies must be mindful, accessible, and most of all, they must enhance the learning process beyond the scope of traditional teaching methods.

The mindful implementation of technology is also key to the usefulness of that technology in the classroom.  The presentation materials pointed out that Reigeluth (1983) argued that good design is a plan for the most effective way to realize some desired outcome.  When planning to use technology in the classroom, teachers must ask "What am I trying to achieve here?"  They must use technology just for the sake of its use, but for the ability to bring something to the table that traditional methods cannot.  Technologies must engage students and give them the ability not only to absorb the lesson, but to create or participate in a way that helps to solidify the lesson at hand in their own heads.  Technology can also have the ability to bridge the learning experiences between learners of different levels, and the avenues for special education and enhanced gifted education are also available using technology.  For students who need extra stimulation or extra help, technology can bet the medium through which they get what they need through a variety of visual, audio, and textual methods.

In the realm of accessibility, when looking at technology, educators must ensure that technology is accessible to all of their students both conceptually and logistically. When going through the design phase of a curriculum, implementing teachers must give thought to the appropriateness or learning curve for the technology.  For a non-art class, Photoshop might be too technically advanced a program for students to turn over a project in a week.  Educators must be aware of the ability for students of different levels of technological savvy to use the software or hardware at hand.  Another issue of accessibility is cost.  Educators must take into account that not all students have computers at home, despite the seeming proliferation of computers and mobile devices.  There is still disparity in socioeconomically underserved areas, and an assumption that students can easily get to a computer or the internet could be false.

Finally, the technology should enhance, rather than replace, the lessons in the classroom as well as give students the ability to actively participate in learning.  Technology can allow students access to experiences that they might not normally be able to have in the classroom or even in life.  For example, my focus and interest lies in international affairs/social studies.  To give students a real world view of the topic, there needs to be more than the by-the-book, traditional education to bring home the weight of the lessons.  History, in particular, is a difficult subject to get students engaged if using only book and memorization methods.  However, if one can find a way to use visual, engaging, and participatory lessons, students can really find the spark and excitement of history education.  Award-winning teacher and podcaster Eric Langhorst gives us a perfect example of an innovative technological approach to history.  Through his blog and podcasts, Langhorst has found ways to bring the lessons of history alive to his students.  Take for example the Battle of Gettysburg.  Most of those students would not have the ability to travel from Missouri to Pennsylvania in order to walk the battlefield.  But Langhorst podcasted and photojournaled his own trip for his students to experience vicariously.  He has done these sorts of podcasts for all of his family trips and conferences, giving students experiences they might not otherwise have and bringing history a little bit more to life for them.

Technology has many applications in the classroom, and by following these three guiding principles, one can ensure its proper and effective use.  Technology is also a contentious topic, as some kick against the seeming progress of technology and its implementation in the classroom.  For these people, do not cry "Luddite!" and judge.  Technology has its place in the classroom, but it must have a purpose in order to enhance the learning experience for students.  Through careful planning and thoughtful implementation, educators can curb the fears of those less willing to embrace technology and help better the learning experience for all students.

Teacher Learning and Technology: The Logistics of Lifelong Learning

In a recent blog post from the School Library Journal, I was struck by a quote from a Principal of a New York City school.  Middle School Principal Jason Levy, describing new computing initiatives on their campus, said, “At 339, we don’t see laptops as toys, or even as tools.  We see them as megaphones to give students and teachers global voices."  Thinking about technology as  a megaphone for education and student-teacher voices, I would like to apply this thought to my last blog post.  That post discussed the need for reflection and revelation (getting outside opinion through "revealing" one's teaching to others) in order to make more effective.  This post will deal with the logistics of making those things happen.  More specifically, how do we use the technology that is our "megaphone" to allow reflection and revelation happen?

In chapter 8 of How People Learn, a lot of attention is paid to the practicing teacher, and the opportunities practicing teachers have to consistently learn from their own new experiences.  But what about collaboration with teachers around the country, or even around the world?  There are a number of ways in which teachers can connect in a way that was previously impossible from teacher support groups, teaching resources online, videoconferencing  Whether it be more experienced teachers transferring knowledge to young teachers or colleagues at the same level sharing failures and successes, the benefit and necessity for that type of communication will become more apparent for all.  In the meantime, that resource has been a lifesaver as I transition from research to teaching.  For instance, as I have been taking TLT 431, and our assignments are meant to be implementable classroomlessons and techniques.  I am one of the few people in that class without K-12 classroom experience or without direct aspirations to become a K-12 teacher.  However, what has been a saving resource for me has been the use of the internet to catch myself up in terms of vocabulary of the trade and templates for teacher resources (i.e. unit plan templates, etc).  Thankfully,we have had ample access to resources and recommendations for ways in which we can use technology to enhance our teaching, but also to reach out and learn what others are doing.  Without that resource, I feel I would struggle much more with how to realize those assignments.

Another question to ask is: what is "formal inservice education?" and does it have to be limited to days out of school, at a physical building somewhere?  From distance education to more informal "iTunes University" (in which Lehigh participates) courses, there are ample resources to continually take structured, in-depth classes without leaving the classroom or the comfort of home after a long night of grading papers.  Technology to support teacher learning beyond preservice and inservice training is becoming more essential as demands and time constraints trim the amount of effort and resources that can be put into educational pursuits for teachers. Teachers have an incredibly important job that needs constant updating the way in which a doctor would.  Doctors must meet a requirement of continuing education credits at regular intervals to keep their licenses (and these can come in a variety of online, in person, or conference/seminar-participation formats).  Teachers, who are essentially molding the next generation of thinkers, leaders, and innovators, must be held to a similar standard, and encouraged to continue their education through such outlets and with the backing of their school.

Technology is no silver bullet for perfecting teacher training and learning, this we accept and reiterate repeatedly.  But, it does open possibilities that were once too time-consuming or inconvenient to fit into the time constraints of a teacher's life.  The best teachers realize that they are never done learning, and try to instill that same love of learning in their students.  With the internet - more specifically the "people power" on each side of those internet connections - teachers are finding ways to connect with students and colleagues to make that endeavor more exciting and accessible to all.