Using Learning

The following quote struck home.

"Education is not merely about transferring information. It is about contextualizing that information in the real life experiences of the learners, and in relation with the experiences of other learners…It is the relationships among people and sharing contextualized experiences that create emergent knowledge that is the basis of education." Mark Federman

I had just finished teaching my first online graduate course, and had asked the participants to design a rubric evaluating the course. The course was structured around evaluating case studies and responding to questions. Many of the course participants, all working teachers, stated that the cases were not either relevant to their particular teaching situation or that the pace of the class did not allow them time to reflect on how to make the concepts learned applicable to their work. They wanted something that was relevant and that they could use. Applying it to their work would be evidence that they learned the concepts.

I would say the same applies to the students we teach.


Credits:
Mark Federman, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
http://whatisthemessage.blogspot.com/2007/12/two-conversations-about-relationships.html

Will Richardson http://weblogg-ed.com/2007/business-as-unusual/

Online-Course Rubric http://mrlevine.wikispaces.com/online_course_rubric