Week Ten: What's the Desired Answer?

As I was reading through some EDUC 578 student blogs, I came across a post where a fairly typical statement was made.  It was in response to my request for students to reflect on their learning in the course.  It is also most likely a thought in the minds of most students when asked by their teacher to respond to an idea/concept where the answer to the question is perceived to have been predetermined.  It has led me to reflect and respond. . .

"What have I learned in Educ 578?  This seems like a loaded question. I feel like I know what the desired answer is, but I'm not sure that that answer has been my experience."

I'm not sure even I know what the "desired answer" is. . . except that it be a sincere reflection of your experience.  As I mentioned in class, Tolstoy said the true judge of art, or in this case "learning," is the sincerity of the artist/learner.  All any teacher can ask for is that each student give a sincere effort in all that she does.  The end result will almost necessarily be different for each person, but as long as it is sincere, then I expect that to be closer to the "desired answer" because authentic learning can occur in this mental space. Unfortunately, sincerity is not something that can be easily judged, it usually takes a strong relationship. . .This is why technology will never replace teachers.  It seems part of what it means to be human is to learn in social interaction. The relationships between a teacher and a student is often tantamount to learning (true in both formal and informal student/teacher relationships). When the teacher knows what the student is capable of achieving, the proper amount of encouragement, pressure, or assistance can be seamlessly applied. What the Internet, and the tools of technology can do is to allow for the teacher/student relationship to exist in cyberspace.  It is not identical to a brick-and-mortar experience, but it has the power to facilitate strong relationships that can transcend geography. But it's still about the relationships, not the tools.

The true value in establishing these relationships with students in the K-12 classroom is that you can begin to understand to a close approximation what a sincere effort is, and in that case, can begin to push students to measure their effort/outcome against their ability. In this way, teachers are more like mentors or coaches, the proverbial "guide on the side." I believe this can be accomplished either face-to-face or online. But the whole sincerity part can become murky or even misleading. In the case of a college course where the meetings are so minimal, it becomes harder to determine when someone is being sincere and when they are playing the "school game."  

I think I despise the school game. Students get so caught up in what they think the teacher wants them to do that they often sacrifice any opportunity for authentic learning. Teachers get so caught up in a narrow definition of success in their courses that they miss a golden opportunity to inspire authentic learning. In this and a few other college courses I teach, I have been trying, with mixed success, to provide students the opportunity to experience authentic, personal, and deep learning. Some students thrive, some are paralyzed by the unique nature of the experience or see it as an opportunity to slide by with minimal effort, and the rest are waiting for the rubric or the step-by-step instructions to replicate the preconceived outcome that exists only inside of the professor's head.  

For me, the struggle is about sincerity. In the traditional college course, I cannot easily tell which of the three aforementioned groups my students are in.  I can deal with the first and third, but the second group is a struggle for me because no matter how I structure the course, I have to give grades at the end of the semester. Personally, I think grades get in the way of authentic learning, so I usually let students assess their own learning. For those in the second group, this could be a golden opportunity for the stereotypical "Easy A." Maybe it's that part of me who thrived as the student, as someone who was really good at playing the school game, someone who always chased the grade, that I just can't bear to give an "A" to someone who gives much less than a sincere effort. Whatever it is, I think my own mind is making this more of a challenge than it needs to be.

Another very important fact that I have come to understand that the type of educational "risks" that I ask from my students takes trust.  This leads us back to the relationships.  Perhaps meeting one day per week in a semester isn't enough time to develop the type of relationship necessary for students to trust the teacher enough to learn in the raw. But in every semester, I have a number of students who prove that authentic learning is not only plausible, but entirely possible.

My last random thought is that once people can begin to truly follow their passions, the "formal" teacher becomes much less important in the learning process. It's as if the desire to learn, to follow that which is my calling, transcends the need for a formal learning opportunity. This person will seek to learn anywhere and everywhere the opportunity presents itself. . .that's when someone can begin to change the world! 

 In terms of this course, blog reflections, the sharing (on Twitter and other mediums), and the comments on your peers, becomes a great barometer of both sincerity and learning (for both teacher and student).  This is why I have been pushing everyone to sincerely cultivate their PLNs. . .