The Scholar and the Athlete
Today’s learner is like an athlete. I find many corollaries between the training, and maintenance, of the body and the health and function of the mind. Firstly, growth of muscle and of the mind comes from pushing one’s self beyond the realm of comfort. In order for new muscle to grow tiny tears must be made in the tissue in order to stimulate the growth of new cells. Similarly we as educators are told to bring our students outside their zone of cognitive comfort in order to achieve knowledge acquisition. Secondly we find that often the most effective exercise is often one which shifts the emphasis of the chore from a grinding physical task to a more enjoyable, multi-faceted experience (think hiking through Yellow Stone versus walking on a Stair-master for 2 hours). Similarly both learners and facilitators benefit greatly from new and innovative ways to engage the mind in enjoyable, and meaningful, educational tasks. Finally, in order for success to occur, both processes must become internalized and continuous. Just as you can not lift run a mile for another person’s benefit, nor can you learn something for a second party. This view of teaching as equipping someone to be a successful learner rather than passing on a defined set of factual knowledge is reflected in the principle of connectivisim which states that: “Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known” (Siemens, 2005). We must equip learners with the tools to become the owners of their educational destiny and prepare them for a time when their instructor will no longer be there to facilitate their learning and they must keep an active mind in order to avoid mental atrophy and strive alone toward greater knowledge.
1. “Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age” (2005). In International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning. Retrieved September 14 from: http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm
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3 comments:
Patrick,
I like how you said we as teachers are "equipping someone to be a successful learner". You're right. With the current dynamics in the amount of knowledge and information being produced we'd really be committing an injustice if we just "[passed] on a defined set of factual knowledge".
~ Lynne
Patrick,
Your athlete analogy works in another way as well. By connecting to a network of others who are training, the athlete has access to new sources of information and, perhaps, friends to train with.
Dr. Burgos
Patrick,
I really like your analogy of The Scholar and the Athlete for today's learner. When you stated: "In order for new muscle to grow tiny tears must be made in the tissue in order to stimulate the growth of new cells", I thought of how agonizing trying to learn something new can be. But when you realize the "I got it moment" it is wonderful. Learning is fluid and ever changing, not static. Sometimes I see college freshman students who have for so long been fed information and don't really know where it fits in their lives and the value of it. I appreciate your statement in your post: "We must equip learners with the tools to become the owners of their educational destiny." So much of it is about taking personal responsibility.
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