In, Change is Coming. Are you Ready? Jen Jones writes, “…Can you keep an open mind?…Change is coming.”

…pausing for a deep breath…here we go-

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

– Buckminster Fuller

Education is very resistant to change.

Our existing one-size-fits-all model of education is the current reality. We need new pedagogical models.

  • Web 2.0 is the Future of Education

A few months ago, Steve Hargadon posted, “Web 2.0 is the Future of Education.” In his post, Hargadon describes a perfect storm of ten trends that will have a transformative impact on us culturally, socially, intellectually and politically. Is Web 2.0 the future of education, or is it an enabler of a new pedagogy?

  • Social Learning Theory

Hargadon points to John Seeley Brown and his ideas on the rise of social learning. I like to bill myself as a socio-cultural constructivist (See Vygotsky). In a nutshell, socio-cultural constructivists view the learning process and knowledge construction as a result of individuals interacting in social environments (interpsychological plane) to create shared knowledge that is appropriated by the individual (intrapsychological plane). Socio-cultural theorists contend that the activity in which knowledge is developed is not separable from the learning that is taking place. As an individual learns how to use a cognitive tool (eg: routine, algorithm, definition), they build a rich understanding of the world in which it is used. “How” students learn is just as important as “what” students learn.

  • Mohawks, modalities, and rubber bands.

If you ask 100 educators to describe their teaching philosophy, 99 will state that they are “student-centered.” What does that really mean? Last fall, I had the opportunity to listen to Ron Bonnstetter discuss the human brain, learning and new ways to think about teaching. He opened with a great question, “How many kids in your regular classroom are regular?” Each learner has a unique personality, interest, learning style (modality), needs, and ability.

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is one of the core elements of socio-cultural constructivism. ZPD is the area between what a learner can do by himself and what he is currently not capable of doing. Concepts and skills in this area can be learned with the help of an expert. As a learner grows, her ZPD changes. She can do more by herself, and previously “out of reach” concepts can now be grasped with help.

Each learner has her own unique ZPD. Learning occurs when a student is stretching towards what they don’t know. In order for a teacher to optimize an individual’s learning, he must know that student’s ZPD. Think of the brain as a rubber band. It works best when it is stretched just enough. A rubber band is not serving its purpose if it isn’t stretched. Alternatively, if it is stretched too far, it gives out. You are not student-centered if you expect all students to learn the same thing in the same way.

The Future of Education is Personalization. Can we get there?

Individual learning can not be optimized in a model that treats all learners the same.

Web 2.0 is our enabler, social learning is our theory, personalization is our call to action.

We need new pedagogical models

Models where:

Is Web 2.0 the future of education, or is it an enabler of a new pedagogy?

Learners are “pro-sumers” - collecting, analyzing, synthesizing, and creating new knowledge.

“How” students learn is just as important as “what” students learn.

Learners are collaborative, creative, engaged, critical, focused on solving problems, and immersed in the culture of the discipline being studied.

You are not student-centered if you expect your all students to learn the same thing in the same way.

Students are respected as individuals with unique personalities, interests, needs and abilities.

Personalization is our call to action.

Let’s get to work!

  • How do we get there?