Learning in a Vacuum

Show of hands, who is guilty of the following phrases?

"Worry about yourself."

"Focus on your own work."

"Don't bother your neighbor."

"No talking."

Naturally, there are times when these might be appropriate, but I think they are often overused. It's as thought we're teaching to students who are learning in a vacuum, completely isolated from their peers. If you think about it, isn't that the way the educational system has been designed? Our instructional design is intended to meet the individual goals of each student. We ignore the social learning component, dismissing it as a "distraction" or "unnecessary."

The assumption is that each child is responsible for their own learning and has the tools and capacity to learn the lesson as given by the teacher. Further, it is assumed that class size, demography, or other variables should have no impact on learning (nor instruction) since it is about the individual student. In effect, we have created a system that, in theory, should be able to teach each student as effectively and efficiently as any other. We have standardized learning.

Or so we think. More and more we are opening our eyes to the truth that each student is unique. Each group of students will be different from any other combination. We are beginning to realize that giving the same prescription to each patient without properly diagnosing is a bad idea. We are beginning to think that giving students with different strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and disabilities the same test in the same format with the same questions doesn't give an accurate reflection of whether or not that student mastered the content. 

Consider this a challenge. Don't be satisfied with standardized learning. Treat each student as a unique, whole person with gifts and talents that are different from anyone else in their peer group. Open your mind to the notion that maybe your students need to spend more time interacting and learning from one another instead of silently filling in blanks on the worksheet. Maybe the next time we're tired of dealing with students that are talking, we should try to leverage their desire to interact with an interesting, engaging topic that could change their life. And change yours.

--Greg Garner