Monthly ArchiveSeptember 2015

Episode 24: How Do We Teach How To Learn

Teachers use a variety of approaches to teach students specific skills, concepts, and theories. Since the start of school, however, I have found myself pondering the question, How are we teaching children to learn?

Sounds like a crazy question, but let’s consider it for a moment. Due to high stakes testing, every academic task has turned formulaic. Paragraphs are to be made of five sentences; including a topic sentence, three supporting sentences, and a conclusion. Sentences should have a specified number of words and include particular types of adjectives and adverbs if they are to be considered “adequate.”

We are teaching our children that learning is a process comprised of facts and figures that must be memorized, rubrics that must be completed, and formulas that must be followed. This may sound fine to many. Teaching students the exact way to learn material and present what they understand ensures that the students learn a process. However, there are unintended consequences.

In this week’s podcast, Dr. Berney and Dr. Richard discuss many of the unintended consequences of prescribed learning; which include decreased ingenuity, decreased love of learning, and an increase in wasted time.

This podcast was edited by Mr. Andrew Rasmussen.

 

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