This falls in line with something I’ve thought myself for some time now. When I was in school, much class time was devoted to imparting information. In today’s information age, such information is at our fingertips (literally, via cellphones). We don’t need information imparted to us. Instead, we need the skills to deal with that information – to sort through it, validate it, use it to guide decisions and inspire new ideas.
Maggie Hos-McGrane of the blog Tech Transformation states:
Maggie Hos-McGrane of the blog Tech Transformation states:
In my mother's day, for example, and even when I was at school, we didn't do much problem solving or decision making. Those skills weren't seen as important because when we left school and went to work most of us expected to be told what to do - if we had a problem or if a decision had to be made we were expected to take that to someone higher up rather than
make it ourselves.
She then goes on to explain how our world is different today and how students need to be lifelong learners equipped with the ability to take charge of their own education. I fully agree. We need to stop simply imparting information (i.e. answers) and instead teach the art of learning (i.e. asking questions).
This article on how we need “Facilitators of Learning not Speakers of Stats” says basically the same thing. We need to stop trying to make students learn and instead step back and facilitate their own self-directed inquiry.
Tangentially related, I remember a long time ago hearing someone define anger as the result of having a goal that depends on others for fulfillment. For example, if I am part of a sports team and have staked my sense of success on whether we win every game, I will likely experience frustration. Achieving that goal depends on a lot of other people. But if I instead stake my sense of success on doing my best, my goal is certainly achievable. Any goals that are dependent on others outside of ourselves risk being blocked which will then lead to frustration and anger.
What is the relevance of this example? Well, the goal of getting others to learn is just such a blockable goal. We can’t make anyone else learn. And simply imparting information is a very poor way of trying to achieve such a faulty goal. Instead, what we can do is facilitate learning. We can create opportunities. We can ask questions. We can provide resources. But learning is something that each individual must accomplish for themselves. Thus, our goal needs to change.
This article on how we need “Facilitators of Learning not Speakers of Stats” says basically the same thing. We need to stop trying to make students learn and instead step back and facilitate their own self-directed inquiry.
Tangentially related, I remember a long time ago hearing someone define anger as the result of having a goal that depends on others for fulfillment. For example, if I am part of a sports team and have staked my sense of success on whether we win every game, I will likely experience frustration. Achieving that goal depends on a lot of other people. But if I instead stake my sense of success on doing my best, my goal is certainly achievable. Any goals that are dependent on others outside of ourselves risk being blocked which will then lead to frustration and anger.
What is the relevance of this example? Well, the goal of getting others to learn is just such a blockable goal. We can’t make anyone else learn. And simply imparting information is a very poor way of trying to achieve such a faulty goal. Instead, what we can do is facilitate learning. We can create opportunities. We can ask questions. We can provide resources. But learning is something that each individual must accomplish for themselves. Thus, our goal needs to change.
