Learning
“Learning is the process through which experience causes permanent change in knowledge or behaviour.”
– Woolfolk, Winne & Perry, 2012
When I first read, “Intentional Interruption”, by Steven Katz and Lisa Ain Dack, I became stuck on this definition of learning. This caused me to ask myself some challenging questions.
If this definition of learning is true…..
Are my students really entering a ‘learning zone’?
What are my students actually learning?
How can I challenge myself, my students and my colleagues to redefine how we view and facilitate learning?
#msasclassgetsLearning
In May 2014, I wrote my newly embraced definition on the whiteboard, stood back and invited my students to join me in wrestling with this. We brainstormed examples of things in their life they had learned. The test of each example, we decided, was to ask ourselves, “Would I be able to not do it or forget it?”. Our list ended up including behaviours like talking, walking, biking, using a spoon, tying shoes, and texting. Permanent changes in thinking were more challenging for them (and me) to identify and we came to a point in our conversation where I was struck with the realization that they had come to view learning as regurgitation of memorized knowledge-based content. If this is how they have come to see themselves as learners, no wonder we have so many disengaged, unmotivated students who see themselves as not learning anything at school.
After that moment I continued to challenge my students and myself to determine what they have learned, knowing that it needed to be a permanent change in behaviour or thinking. I even threw challenges at them to ponder the question, “How does technology help you learn?”. Honestly, we struggled. It is hard for all of us to articulate a response for questions such as these. However, some did and they created original stop-motion animations to communicate their responses.
As I prepare for a new school year and launch the concept of getting REAL with my new students, I will be engaging them in daily conversations about their learning and challenge them and myself to recognize what they have actually learned vs. what the intended learning goal was. We will also attempt to chronicle our learning in order to determine the conditions and influences that promote true learning. This will be shared on my classroom site at: msasclassgetsreal.wordpress.com
Liz Anderson 