Several theories of cognitive science -- the study of the processes of the brain and how it acquires and uses knowledge -- help us understand how real learning takes place. Armed with this knowledge, educators are able to reach students in a deeper way, so that students are not just memorizing facts, but learning them.
With this foundation, students will be able to succeed better in the workplace, because they will have the tools and skills needed to flourish.
A brain may be where learning takes place, but "it is the hearts and souls of students we are trying to reach," explains Cal Crow.
Crow is the program director of the Center for Learning Connections. He says if students are to learn, they need to be touched by the information.
Typically, a teacher stands in front of the classroom and lectures. The students are expected to hear, digest and learn. But instead, students tend to memorize facts.
"If we are going to help with career development, we have to reach students where they are, how they think and let them internalize the information," Crow says.
Teachers need to stop and listen to their students and find out what and how they want to learn. Teachers should also push students to construct their own set of knowledge, rather than give them answers lecture-style. Crow refers to a learning theory called constructivism.
"Constructivism is based on the fact that everyone creates their own reality," he says. "Everyone interprets the world differently because each has different experiences and a different agenda. You construe the world according to your experiences and view of the world."
Reaching students where they are -- that is, individually, using their experiences and knowledge as the starting point -- may seem like a lot of lesson planning. But you can easily infuse this type of learning into the classroom.
For example, when teaching about heat generation, you might ask middle school students how sweaters keep us warm, says Wesley Hoover. He is president and CEO of the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory in Austin, Texas.
Teachers will find that, based on students' personal experiences, many think that sweaters generate their own heat, Hoover says. Then you, as a teacher, could say, "Do you actually believe sweaters are warm objects?"
At that point, you could offer to stick a thermometer in the sweater to see if the temperature rises, he says. "This makes learning real for kids. You are presenting them with a situation that conflicts with their understanding [of the world], which they will then try to explore."
This is how we learn best, according to constructivism.
In schools today, says Hoover, teachers often impart information, rather than facilitate learning. "A lot of teachers think they are the sage on the stage, rather than the guide on the side."
Constructivism is different. "Students have to construct their own understanding and see if those understandings are OK to operate in the world."
With this learning system, kids are acquiring tools that help them adapt and solve problems. "It helps students actually become competent at learning how to use different tools to perform different jobs," says Hoover.
"And that's what the world is. When they leave school, they'll be asked to be creative and to solve problems and apply what they know to different situations. You are able to do that if you learn."
Crow is working with about 100 sixth-grade teachers in a school district in South Carolina. He recommends students have some sort of career plan.
"A career plan doesn't mean we're asking kids what they want to be," Crow says. "But we're asking them to think about being a successful adult....We want them to start picturing themselves as an adult, to start describing themselves."
From this self-description, personality characteristics will emerge. There are artists, fixers, scientists, organizers and other types of people, he says.
"If we see those characteristics operating, let's build on them," Crow tells the South Carolina teachers. "Let's talk about the subject matter in that context."
For example, a social studies teacher could put the artists in one group and the entrepreneurs in another. If the lesson is about a war, the teacher could ask the students to discuss what kind of conflicts they observe in the artistic world and in the business world, respectively.
When this individual learning approach takes place, students may no longer view school as a place where they do what the teacher says, but as a place where they develop skills to become successful adults.
This type of teaching also results in fewer disciplinary problems. That's because conflict in the classroom, Crow says, is the result of two people (the teacher and the student) working on different agendas. When the teacher pulls rank on a student, a power game ensues and results in rebellious kids.
"I strongly recommend an activity-based education," says Lynne Bezanson. She is the executive director of a career development foundation. One of her favorite activities is The Real Game.
"It is simulating life in the classroom. Kids are given roles....They are able to draw their role and manage in that world," she says.
They make decisions about budget and lifestyle based on their career and salary, such as what type of house they can afford. "It's involving them emotionally and physically in assimilation, where they begin to understand the skills they use to manage their futures," says Bezanson.
"It's a constructivism approach. It starts with the meaning inside and draws them out."
Bezanson also believes in work experience in a school-to-work setting, where the employer acts responsibly, not overworking kids, but showing them how school and work relate.
As a teacher, chances are you're going to repeat what you say at least six times anyway, so why not repeat it in a way that appeals to every student in the class? That's what Lois Breur Krause says. She is a professor at Clemson University in South Carolina. She teaches elementary education majors.
She believes teachers need to recognize that there are four types of learners in their classroom who will respond to one teaching method over another. "Be sure to teach every major concept in four different ways, so every kid can get a grip on it," Krause says.
She has examined what works and what doesn't in the classroom, using Carl Jung's theory of personality types. Her results are part of her own cognitive profile model. (While Krause has developed her own test to determine learning types, the one many are familiar with is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.)
Krause does not necessarily recommend that teachers test students -- observing is enough. Those familiar with the types, or the four quadrants Krause has defined, can identify students' learning styles by their behavior in class.
Students who are talkative and very social are SF (sensor feelers). Those who build things are NT (intuitive thinkers). Students who tend to daydream are NF (intuitive feelers). And those who are picky about details are ST (sensor thinkers).
Krause says our schools are designed for ST learners, but only 12 to 18 percent of the population is ST.
Teachers need to develop lesson plans that will reach all learners. By teaching in the four different styles, teachers allow kids to develop skills in all the quadrants, not just the one in which they are strongest. To succeed in life, after all, you need to perform many tasks well.
Another type of learning system being used in schools is 4MAT. This technique draws on constructivism, but also uses personality types.
Linda Lippitt is the director of the research division at About Learning, Inc. She says 4MAT defines four learning types, which are further categorized by how we process knowledge.
The 4MAT System is illustrated as a wheel with eight pies, each of which integrates the different learning and processing styles. Teachers walk the wheel, figuratively speaking, teaching their subject in eight different steps.
"The basic result," Lippitt says, "is you have learners who are more engaged in learning. Academic achievement is raised and there is improved attitude."
Both Lippitt and Krause emphasize that their systems do not label students. Even though learning styles are categorized, they only ask that teachers recognize that every student is different. You can't reach all students with a lecture at the podium.
When teachers reach students, there is a deeper understanding of the knowledge and a sense of achievement for having reached this pinnacle. Teachers that can do this for their students give them tools to use for a lifetime.
Home | Tell Us What You Think
| About Us | Tell A Friend 