My newest passion about adult learning is depth. Whence depth? How can we be sure we are inviting and challenging learners to go deep! I want learners to not only learn the surface facts and figures,but to imagine implications,to reconstruct a concept to fit a context,to apply a skill and look at that application critically –to go deep.
I realize in my own life that depth has come over time,the long mulling over a concept sitting by the fire with a glass of wine;the quiet,searching conversation by the same fire with a good friend –and the same wine;the writing of another book about the same topic! Often in a course or short session,such delicious time is rare.
How about inviting and challenging learners to “go deep”by an intentional sequence of depth in the implementation or “applying”part of a learning task? Suppose we designed a movement from reviewing the input concepts and skills to questioning them to connecting them to other relevant concepts and skills to projecting an application in a demanding context,to naming implications with particular groups…
We do some of that in the four I’s:inductive work,connecting,anchoring;
Input:content,adding new facts and skills;Implementation,applying the content;and Integration,projecting the new knowledge away from the course or workshop. How can we go deeper in our designing so learners get a chance to celebrate a depth of learning?
I agree with Dr. Vella ,I think if In the classroom be an opportunity to critique each other,Members can help each other in a deeper understanding. in this case education is a opportunity for interaction and social support which could be lead to deeper learning. I got to work this way in the dialogue-based education for my students and got some interesting results.
Yes! If a student is merely regurgitating information,there truly is no learning taking place. If information is received as “input”and returned as “output”without reflection,the exercise is simply futile. It is in the critical process of reflection that learning takes place for those involved. As each member of the learning community assimilates the information presented,and the interaction among the members ensues,scaffolding results in higher learning. I agree with Dr. Vella,this should be the goal of every educational setting.