The art of Learning to Learn

Will Richardson has a post entitled Learning to Learn that I can really get behind. I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think one of the problems with education to day is that we spend far too much time teaching.

Want me to wait for a minute so you can let that sink in? I can already feel angry teachers readying their arguments against me. Let me explain myself first.

If our goal for a lesson is to teach students how to use the commands “Copy” and “Paste”, the traditional teaching model would be to give them step by step instructions, perhaps provide them with a worksheet, and then give the students exercises so that they can practice it until they have mastered the skill. If they have a question, they stop what they’re doing and raise their hand until a teacher comes around to assist them.

I believe that this cripples our students’ thinking. They come to expect step by step instructions. They understand how the skill is applied in one specific situation, but have no concept of transfer. Most of all though, they learn the specific skill and nothing beyond the skill. It’s an isolated piece of information.

This year in our middle school, we’ve stopped telling the students what to do. They are allowed one question of the teacher per class, so they better make it good. That’s not to say that a teacher doesn’t help a student who’s struggling, but the teacher will nudge a student in the right direction without giving them any answers. The students are learning to simply explore programs, to use help menus, to use the Wikipedia, to look for answers on the web or in discussion boards, to use their friends and other adults as resources. They are learning that they are able to find answers without depending on a single source. They’re building a set of core skills that they will be able to apply to any assignment, in any subject at any grade level, even after they move beyond formal schooling.

Instead of teaching students how to use a piece of software, we teach them how to learn to use a piece of software. Once we teach them that, then they can learn anything. I like to say that I can sit down with any program and learn to use it. That’s not to say I’ll learn it in isolation, but I can find the resources that I need to figure things out, whether they be calling up a friend or finding a website with tutorials. I apply the same skills when I want to repair a broken vacuum cleaner.

Dave Bauer says in the comments from that same post:

Its not learning to learn, its “not forgetting how to learn” Kids naturally already know how to learn, and school helps them forget how to learn. The answer is to find ways to show everyone that learning is not something that happens in a special place, when an authorized adult tells you it is happening. Learning happens all the time, everywhere, unless you try to stop it. Kids can learn from anyone, of any age or background. They can help each other learn, and definitely can help adults to learn something themselves.

I don’t think that schools help them forget how to learn, it’s that they change the meaning of learning. Schools tend to provide a model for learning that is not applicable beyond the school setting. Once students leave school, most will not be given step by step directions for their jobs. The students who become successful are going to be the ones who are able to find the resources they need to solve problems, not necessarily independently, but certainly without someone telling them how to go about doing it.

One last semi-controversial thought before I wrap this up. I don’t think that its necessary for students to love learning. I love learning, most teachers love learning, but I don’t think every student and every person has to love learning. However, they do need to know how to learn effectively, and how to create their own support system when it comes to problem solving. I do believe that a person can be effective without loving the actual process. There’s nothing wrong with that even though as a teacher I’d love to see all my students develop the same appreciation for knowledge that I have.