"A student sitting at a desk, taking notes and regurgitating curriculum content uses approximately 3% of their brain's capacity. In general, students learn to sit quietly, respond in turn, follow instructions and complete tasks for the evaluation of a control teacher" (Revington, n.d.). The industrial age has been over for 30 years and educator goals should shift their focus to a different way to connect to the content and standards, for a different outcome and a different learner. |
1."When a topic connects to what students like to do, engagement deepens as they willingly spend time thinking, dialoging, and creating ideas in meaningful ways. Making learning contextual to real-world experiences is a key learning technique with differentiating for student interests" (McCarthy, 2014).
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2. Not being able to complete the task in one sitting allows reflection on the problem over time. Percolation allows the student to problem-solve without being consciously aware of the thinking process (Carey, 2014).
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3. Identifying gaps in prior knowledge, students must question what they already know and then supplement with research (Carey, 2014).
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4. "When we’re interested in what we’re learning, we pay closer attention; we process the information more efficiently; we employ more effective learning strategies, such as engaging in critical thinking, making connections between old and new knowledge, and attending to deep structure instead of surface features" (Paul, 2013).
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Benefits to IDL
(Edelson & Joseph, 2001) |
(Spencer, 2017)
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"Changing the game of school means actually allowing students to create their own game. This is empowerment."
AJ Juliani and John Spencer |
Recommendation: Turn Compliant into Empowered (Couros, 2017). Education should be about learning, not grades, standardized testing or control. Teaching students how to learn, how to be critical, how to question, how to collaborate, and how to communicate in order to succeed in future endeavors in the workforce and living with others in the world. One exemplary way to accomplish this goal is through (IDL) Interest-Driven Learning and instruction. Allow student learners space in courses to explore the world and their understandings without fear of failure and we will be helping to prepare a generation of thinkers and doers. And generation that is not afraid to question the norms and make changes for the betterment of the future of our world. I support interest driven instruction. In the art studio I will continue to promote interest driven learning and encourage students to pursue their own interests to become EDUCATED and EMPOWERED.
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