A New Culture of Learning: An Interview with John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas (Part ... - 0 views
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“imagination is more important than knowledge.”
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Hannah Inzko on 20 May 13I might even add to this that "innovation is more important than knowledge"
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The very idea of remix is about the productions of new meanings by reframing or shifting the context in which something means.
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There is a level of understanding about the original content needed in order to create an innovative and thoughtful remix.
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Information and knowledge begin to function like currency: the more of it you have, the more opportunities you will have to do things.
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By returning to play as a modality of learning, we can see how a world in constant flux is no longer a challenge or hurdle to overcome; it becomes a limitless resource to engage, stimulate, and cultivate the imagination.
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I have been thinking about the idea of play and how it relates to college aged students. For many, games provide the same type of learning experience. In lab environments, we often play games such as simulating an epidemic or watching evolution in action by making and flying paper airplanes (these are some cool labs that I won't bore you with the details). But, I have found that my students love online games that can be found on some websites. For instance, no one cares about the science of blood typing until they have to pretend to be the medical professional and decide what kind of blood to give a patient (nobelprize.org offers this game and many others). I think about how much time I used to spend playing video games and how cool it would have been to incorporate that into my learning. So, my point is that play is important to children, but it is also an effective strategy for adult students. -
I'm very fond of game-based learning, expecially after my experience in one of my educational leadership classes. A group of researchers developed a board game that simulated realistic scenarios of what it takes to make systematic change in an organization. Seeing the real-like consequences of my decisions helped me learn the textbook information in a dynamic, genuine fashion. I also think our mode of thinking can be playful when faced with a problem. For example, multiply the numbers 15 and 31. Skip the rote algorithm with pencil and paper, and creatively multiply 31 by ten, taking half, and adding it to the first product to arrive at the answer. When faced with any kind of problem, tinkering with the options in this fashion of exploration and with no fear of failure or judgement or need to have the answer right away can inspire insightful solutions.
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The explicit is only one kind of content, which tells you what something means. The tacit has its own layer of meaning. It tells why something is important to you, how it relates to your life and social practices. It is the dimension where the context and content interact. Our teaching institutions have paid almost no attention to the tacit and we believe that it is the tacit dimension that allows us to navigate meaning in a changing world.
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This idea that you need to care about something, find meaning in it, has a definite basis in memory. Students remember something better if they can find some personal significance to the information. I also find that can remember something better if you tell a joke about it, but that is a different idea entirely. But I really try to point out "why do I care" moments in my teaching as these are the concepts that the students will remember. No one cares about all of the steps of blood clotting, but if you explain how those steps relate to a blood disorder like hemophilia, the students can find a reason to care about all of those steps.
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As a math educator, balancing between explicit and tacit knowledge is difficult. Some of my students may never use math beyond high school, while others may use it to find the cure to a form of cancer. Solving problems that are open-ended, real-world, and relevant to students is one key way that I can convey the tacit significance even to students who will not pursue STEM careers.
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I like how the author presents the important dimension of where "context and content interact." About this statement "Our teaching institutions have paid almost no attention to the tacit" - I think our professors are trying to let us create tacit content when they give us projects with a choice on the context for the application of our learning. What is important to me is often "how do I apply this knowledge at work" Btw, how Melissa and Justin draw their students into learning with the examples given here shows how IDs can make instructions in a courseware more engaging - by giving them meaningful context. I've not been a teacher and so I need to draw from the experiences of those who teach. Thanks
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the role of educators needs to shift away from being expert in a particular area of knowledge, to becoming expert in the ability to create and shape new learning environments.
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Expert content knowledge plays a central role in a teacher's ability to construct meaningful learning activities for students. Knowing what content is important, and why, directs how teachers construct self-discovery activities so that they equip students with the essential skills and concepts as students complete the exploratory task. This level of compentency allows the teacher to explain key information when students have questions, as well as allowing the teacher to scaffold learning accordingly as students sufficiently struggle to advanced in their self-directed learning. Not exclusively, however, should a teacher learn the art of creating these new kinds of learning environments. Know-how in this area is also of vital importance.
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Content knowledge is vital. I had a history class in high school where I knew more about the Cold War than he did, and I'd never studied it beyond just living through the wall coming down. The class was terrible because he just didn't know, and his idea of challenging me was to make me do his job. He had me create projects and assignments for the class to do. Having such an incompetent teacher was incredibly frustrating. Equally frustrating are administrators who think that all teaching is the same. There is a huge difference between teaching AP students in high school and then being told to teach kindergarteners. The learning environments are completely different, and that fact should be taken into account. -
When I taught 5th grade a couple of years ago, I had a class that was unsure in taking the reigns of their own learning. So, I created a Friday "game" of stump the teacher where they had the opportunity to take anything we had studied during the week and either find a new fact, create a problem, ask a trivia question, or something as a team that added to the lessons and then they either taught or tested me. I really had some interesting learning come from that session each Friday and the students started taking over their own learning after about the first grading period with more confidence. May sound silly, but it worked because the environment and expectations were changed.
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WOW! This quote from Douglas definitely defines how I feel as a third year teacher. We constantly are teaching our curriculum to fit the timelines set by the district and state. We test our kids to death to see if they are mastering the "core" content. Where in the world do they even have time to express their interests? I struggle with finding time to answer and investigate student questions that arise in "lectures!" If only we could allow students to learn through their best way! Being driven by self-motivation and their own inquisitiveness towards concepts directly related to them, will only yield higher level thinkers!
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see students learn, discover, explore, play, and develop,
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Does this line really have the world play in it? There is so much that can come from students being able to play and explore. When did things change so much that we had to eliminate the inquisitive nature of students? The ability to explore, discover, and PLAY!!
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Imagination, what you actually do with that information, is the new challenge.
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Today, we are creating a society of rote memorizers. It is hard for students to grasp the imaginative side, the problem solving side, the risk-taking side. It is amazing that even at the primary grades, I see so many students who are afraid to try something; afraid to create on their own. They look to me for directions, samples, expectations! It is hard to reverse the thinking in some of the students. To allow my students to know that experimenting and being "wrong" is okay!
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Marie, I can relate to your observations. After talking with my 13 year-old daughter, I see where "wrong" and "bad" are often conflated with "failure". It is a hard mindset to untangle when it seems to be reinforced in school.
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nderstanding how knowledge is both created and how it flows in the tacit is the key to understanding and transforming learning in the 21st century.
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We take it as a truism that kids learn about the world through play
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I think technology especially is learned best through just playing with it. I always tell people who are uncomfortable with new software or electronic searching to just sit down and play with it. Time and use creates a sense of comfort, and I think using the word play changes the way that they think about their learning experience.
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Karen, I agree with your observations. I think it also changes the expectations of and attitudes towards the experiences.
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users are not so much creating content as they are constantly reshaping context
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This is such an "ah-ha" moment for me and highlights the contrast between Learning 1.0 and Learning 2.0 - Learning 1.0 = Creating Content while Learning 2.0 = Reshaping Context.
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