Education Thoughts: Variety and Choice Yields Engagement
I have recently begun doing a great deal of deep thinking about education and what worked in my own education, spurred on, of course, by my work, but also by listening to fascinating TED talks while driving to Binghamton and back to Boston. (Incidentally, if you want to support a fledgling but awesome nonprofit but you don't have the financial resources to donate, consider leaving a substantive comment on that blog post to kickstart our discussion. It always looks better if there's actually a discussion after I try to start one!)
The major turning points I've identified in my own education are:
Here's the thing: if you ask virtually anyone else who had a really successful education for their own list of major turning points (and if they've thought about it in enough depth to generate a good list), it's almost certain to come out entirely different from my own.
That's why it's so important that any student gets the education that's right for them. I don't mean this in the usual way it's meant --- I don't mean this to talk about "learning styles" or offering a mix of hands-on work with lecture work with whatever --- rather, I mean that every student should get exposed to a huge range of different activities and topics. Sports, academic competitions, math, science, literature, music, art, theater, team projects, scavenger hunts, whatever: try it all. Then, see what each student latches on to --- what they get into, what gets them going --- and allow them to dive into it. Do this and everyone can get the experiences that will drive them to succeed.
This is, I believe, the fundamental way to engage kids and push creativity as well as book learning. Build up the kind of energy and engagement kids need, and the learning of all kinds can follow much more easily through those channels. Try to push too much for one technique or force kids into learning a particular way and the energy and motivation drains out of the system, replaced by often ineffective and artificial stimuli.
This is one reason that I often don't buy into any particular theory on how to improve learning. Implying that students should do any one thing either leaves many students out, or waters down each student's experience to accommodate others. Give choices and variety in learning and activities: students will latch on.
When we start paying closer attention to engaging students and how they become engaged, we'll have much more successful programs. This is how I try to design most of the projects I work on, and it's a big part of why I'm attracted to Learning Unlimited's work.
The major turning points I've identified in my own education are:
- subscribing to Discover Magazine as a kid;
- having a mathematician as a father, and, in particular, parents supportive of learning through books, their culture, etc.;
- attending CTY and, later, Mathcamp, which engaged me in intense learning and, much more importantly, gave me both a community of peers who really cared about learning and great role models to look up to;
- Mock Trial and what I learned about working on a team, building a complicated argument from many inputs, responding on my feet, and speaking persuasively;
- Bear Facts (the school paper) and what it taught me about leading a team, doing whatever it takes to get something done, and putting out a good finished product.
Here's the thing: if you ask virtually anyone else who had a really successful education for their own list of major turning points (and if they've thought about it in enough depth to generate a good list), it's almost certain to come out entirely different from my own.
That's why it's so important that any student gets the education that's right for them. I don't mean this in the usual way it's meant --- I don't mean this to talk about "learning styles" or offering a mix of hands-on work with lecture work with whatever --- rather, I mean that every student should get exposed to a huge range of different activities and topics. Sports, academic competitions, math, science, literature, music, art, theater, team projects, scavenger hunts, whatever: try it all. Then, see what each student latches on to --- what they get into, what gets them going --- and allow them to dive into it. Do this and everyone can get the experiences that will drive them to succeed.
This is, I believe, the fundamental way to engage kids and push creativity as well as book learning. Build up the kind of energy and engagement kids need, and the learning of all kinds can follow much more easily through those channels. Try to push too much for one technique or force kids into learning a particular way and the energy and motivation drains out of the system, replaced by often ineffective and artificial stimuli.
This is one reason that I often don't buy into any particular theory on how to improve learning. Implying that students should do any one thing either leaves many students out, or waters down each student's experience to accommodate others. Give choices and variety in learning and activities: students will latch on.
When we start paying closer attention to engaging students and how they become engaged, we'll have much more successful programs. This is how I try to design most of the projects I work on, and it's a big part of why I'm attracted to Learning Unlimited's work.