How, When And Why: The Key to Deep Learning
Elise Young reports on InsideHigherEd:
“Educators should not teach only facts and formulas—they should also teach students how to use that subject knowledge to remain academically motivated, think critically, and communicate ideas to others, according to a report about education and life skills released Tuesday by the National Research Council.
The report—’Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century’—promotes ‘deeper learning,’ a process through which students learn how, when and why to apply specific situational knowledge to solve problems in other areas within a discipline. This is called ‘transferable knowledge.’
When students acquire this subject knowledge and the ability to apply it, they have what the report’s authors called ’21st-century competencies.’ The report identifies three types of skill groups that compose these competencies: cognitive (critical thinking and problem solving), intrapersonal (organization and responsibility), and interpersonal (communication and collaboration). Read more here.
Knowing “how, when and why” to apply the knowledge we’ve learned—that’s the key.
The search for central directions for ed reform continues to bypass a very basic point. You may already be familiar with this point and have for some reason dismissed it. But if not, writing about education reform, it can be helpful to understand a fundamental principle vastly underutilized in most schools–insuring that most students get only superficial learning. It’s the strict correlation between practice and skill development of any kind–whether a physical skill or a zone of knowledge. Missing this is like trying to run a high-tech automobile while not understanding the principle behind the firing of gasoline. Get this right and classrooms turn around in a few days. No one’s fault, just a principle overlooked. Here are two links to brief articles explaining the idea:
http://www.educationnews.org/k-12-schools/john-jensen-just-one-teaching-tweak-can-mean-better-learning/
http://teaching-in-the-middle.com/wordpress/index.php/2012/06/15/what-went-missing-in-education-guest-blog-from-dr-john-jensen/
Best regards, John Jensen
I’m really struggling with this whole “deep learning” thing. To me, it smacks of a hypothetical construct. How do we operationalize “deep learning?” How do I know it’s happening? Can I observe it? Can I measure it? Or is the “deep learning” movement just another effort to move away from measuring learning outcomes?