A new level of learning

Your students can retain what they learn, not just for the quiz, not just for next year, but for life.  They can understand concepts and big ideas.  They can create products that not only demonstrate learning, but that also can help them grow in the skills they need to succeed in their future.  Please read on to see how to make these ideas a reality.

 

Principles

 

Every kid loves to learn

While students may not be motivated to learn subjects like math, literature or social studies, and they may not learn with retention from methods often used in class, all kids learn every day.  One of the most popular activities among children and teens is gaming, and games are all about learning, often at a very high level.  Kids explore their smart phones and learn them so well that they can teach adults how to use them.  Children love to learn things that appeal to them.

 

Leveraging the  love of learning 

If kids love to learn, then it must be possible to create an environment in which we cater to that propensity and find ways to design projects for learning.  It's important that educators see their task not in terms of teaching, but rather in terms of promoting learning.  This is the way education innovator Seymore Papert put it:  "The role of the teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge." 

 

Figuring out what works

I think it's important that teachers observe their students carefully and think about what methods create real, retained learning.  Of course, if a teacher does something that works well, she needs to remember that and think about ways to do more of it.  In general, though, we should remember that the best learning occurs naturally, as a result of curiosity, of a need to create, maintain, repair, or to make something work.  

Dr. Matthias Gruber of UC Davis did research demonstrating that learning that results from curiosity puts the brain in a condition where learning is more likely to be retained.  And Dr. Judy Willis, a brain researcher who became a teacher in order to do learning research, says that the methods game developers use to lead players to work hard to gain new levels can be leveraged by educators to draw students to learn and retain more--while enjoying the learning experience.

 

Digital Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning (PBL) may be the best method available to teachers to create learning at the level I wrote about above.  Good projects, however, often involves a great deal of planning, organization of people and materials, and a commitment of large blocks of class time.  The right devices and digital tools can allow teachers to leverage the basic principles of PBL and the power of the methods while engaging students in projects that appeal to them and that can allow for quicker completion of assignments. 

     This is what I've done with my students.  Of course some projects are extended and multi-stage, but those are often punctuated by shorter term assignments that allow the teacher to assess progress and depth of learning.  My students often tell me that they feel they are learning at a level significantly higher than in the past.  They also email, text, call or visit to let me know how much the skills and knowledge they have gained from the projects we did.