New Approach To Education Today

Firstly I must say that I am not an academic and that I am not an authority on education.

I have, however, had the opportunity to get my primary and secondary education in Guyana which followed the British system, and a tertiary education in Trinidad and Tobago, which also followed the British system. I was fortunate to have studied in Brazil at the Federal University of Campina Grande, Paraiba, and got a taste of their educational system too. I studied extensively in Canada at college and university levels and got some experience in their educational system and to top of it off,  I did many special interest courses in the American system.

I will not endeavor to compare the systems because each system took different approaches that lead to the same end. While doing a diploma in Adult Education and Instructional Design I found some eye popping techniques used in Canada which I will share with you.

The traditional classroom setting and set ups consist of chalkboard, flipcharts, textbooks, desks, chairs and of course seated students with standing teachers or lecturers. Lecturers lecture and students take notes and finally exams are administered to test learning. This is the system we most commonly see in most part of the world. There is one approach to every student irrespective of the uniqueness of the students learning styles.

The above traditional approach assumes that all students learn in the same manner and at the same pace which we know is not a fact. The teaching material is in the form of verbal communication and written texts. This is the” teacher-centered” approach.

What if we use the learner- centered approach?  In this approach the focus is on the learner experiences, and teachers assist students to become more analytic, and encourage responsibility for their own learning. The students choose an approach that suit their needs and move at their own pace. An evaluation is done afterward to determine if learning has occurred.

In the learner-centered approach the class is broken up into small groups, case studies are done, employ role playing, give group and individual assignments, assign team projects so that each learner can participate with their peers, speaking the same language and discussing ideas.

So the teacher’s new role in the learner- centered approach is that of a facilitator instead of a transmitter of abstract knowledge.

According to KOLB (1984) we go through a 4 stages learning cycle:

1.  Concrete experience:  how we behave in new learning situations.

2.  Reflective observation :  observing others learning and reflect on our own experience.

3.  Abstract conceptualization: creating concepts and theories to explain our observation.

4.  Active experimentation: Using our theories to solve problems and make conclusions.

He also identified 4 learning styles

1.  Convergers: they prefer abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. They tend to be unemotional and prefer to work with ideas and things rather than people.

2.  Assimilators: prefer abstract conceptualization and reflective observation. They integrate ideas into models and theories but are uninterested in the application of the theories in real life.

3.   Accommodators: prefer concrete experience and active experimentation. They learn by experience and use a trial and error approach.

4.   Divergers: work well with the concrete experience and reflective observation stages. They generate good ideas, well at brainstorming, and enjoy working with others.  They do not get solutions quickly because they want to explore all the possibilities.

Grasha and Reichmann look at learning styles from a different angle. They identified the following styles:

1.  Competitive:  compete for rewards, attention, must win.

2.  Collaborative: sharing ideas, cooperating with others, making social interaction.

3.  Avoidant: not interested in the content, do not participate, uninterested or overwhelmed.

4.  Participant: Like learning, enjoy content, participate fully.

5.  Dependent: has little intellectual curiosity, learns what is required, needs structure and support, and needs to be told what to do.

6.  Independent: think for themselves, work on their own, listen to other’s ideas, have confidence.

Now imagine that in a classroom setting your learning style has been indentified and your course content was custom made to suit your learning style how better the learning experience will be. Every student will be successful and learning will be an enjoyable experience. Primary and secondary schools along with colleges and universities will all be a place where knowledge transfer really takes place and there will be less dependence on examinations to determine if learning has occurred.

Written by: Ram John Dereck Balkaran