EDU Trending: Active Learning: A New Paradigm?
In 1998, two educators and brothers - Dr. David and Dr. Roger Johnson - published a book titled, Cooperation in the Classroom. In it, they argued that a new paradigm of student-driven, collaborative, and active learning would replace teacher-directed education. The Johnsons founded The Cooperative Learning Institute and won many awards, but their prediction that active learning would become the gold standard of K-12 education has never been fully realized in traditional public schools.
Nor was active learning a new paradigm. From Froebel and Rousseau, Piaget and Vygotsky, Montessori, Dewey and those he inspired - Sizer, Meier, Littky, and Nathan - active learning has flourished outside the mainstream for hundreds of years. It has been called hands-on, project-based, personalized, real world learning, but is always under the umbrella of constructivism.
Simply put, constructivism is an intentional process that includes learning by doing, problem-solving, reflection, and “making meaning” that results in new knowledge. Teachers facilitate the process by helping students find creative ways to relate to and learn curriculum. Check out the research at https://www.edutopia.org/article/students-think-lectures-are-best-research-suggests-theyre-wrong
In the December issue of this newsletter, we discussed the post-COVID rise of alternative education models and the common values they share. Key among these is active learning. It is the construct for homeschooling, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and independent charter schools - all of which follow required curriculum and standards, but with a hands-on student-focused approach.
Let’s not wonder why parents are defecting to alternative schools. We know the reasons. Let’s not relegate active learning to the sidelines of the occasional project, a semester of internships, electives, or after school clubs. Instead, let’s clear the path for a culture of student inquiry, lively discussion, and topics that make kids eyes shine with anticipation and recognition. Content need not change, only the lens through which it is viewed and implemented.
Teacher-directed Learning
Student-centered Learning
School should be fun! Learning, academically challenging and personally empowering! Read https://www.the74million.org/article/educators-view-3-tips-for-transforming-students-from-consumers-of-education-technology-into-creators/ and be inspired by the possibilities.
Also, consider this: Given its collaborative spirit, active learning may be the single best opportunity for our children to live the reality of diversity, equity, and inclusion free of politics.
Note: If you want to read The Rise of Alternative Education, it is in the December issue of this newsletter on this archive page.
News and Views: Beijing Paradox
We have had a month to reflect on the paradoxes of the Beijing Olympics, 2022, and some things are worth noting. Who were the winners? Who were the losers? Who earned our respect and who, our disdain?
The winners were the 2,871 athletes from 91 nations who competed in 109 events and will forever be Olympians: Those who stood on the podium. Those who fell short. All displayed courage, grace, and character whether embracing the complete happiness of hard-won victory, or facing up to empty loss and shattered dreams. Some will continue to train and compete. Others will move on and achieve in different ways. None will ever forget their experience in Beijing. And we who watched will never forget them. For the rest of the story, please see blog post below.
P.S. And who were the losers? To find out, please read https://www.merleschell.com/reflections “Losers in Beijing”.
Question of the Day: Take a Bow
Excluding Simone Biles, which of the following Black women athletes won the most medals in total from the Olympic Games in which they participated?
Gabby Douglas
Erin Jackson
Jackie Joyner Kersee
Surya Bonaly
Elena Meyers Taylor
For the answer, please go to https://www.merleschell.com/reflections “Losers in Beijing”.
From Me to You: Inside Track
Whether you live in the warmth of the sun or in chillier climes, two years into this pandemic, it all seems like a long, dreary winter. Wherever you are, when work is done, the sun goes down, the family is fed, and, if you have kids, they have done their homework, played, and are in bed. Now cozy up with a book that will transport you. Here are two antidotes - one fiction, one non - for keeping the blues away. Enjoy.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
Forty and fabulous, Olga Isabel Acevedo has achieved status akin to a celebrity as the wedding planner of choice for the rich and famous. She knows how to wheel and deal in business, but her misadventures while searching for her own happy ending create laugh out loud, relatable moments. Yet this debut novel is more than a romantic comedy. Gonzalez deftly interweaves her real world observations about political corruption; social, cultural, and gender bias; and the search each of us undertakes to find our identity. Totally engaging.
How to be Perfect by Michael Schur
Ethics is a lofty subject. Yet in this whimsically serious and often hilarious book about the human condition, Schur explores ethical choices and the inner battle between what we want to do and what we know we should do as we try to be better if not wholly good. One chapter sums up the problem: “Making ethical decisions is hard. Can we just… not make them?” With tongue in cheek and the understanding that imperfect humans can only strive for a perfection they will never attain, Schur brings ethical questions humbly and humorously down to earth.
