Winnou - School and College Management Software, Hyderabad

The theme of this week is Campfires, Watering holes, Caves and Life. These four “primordial learning metaphors” by David Thornburg define the four ways we learn.

Campfire is the metaphor to describe the traditional teaching methodology of a teacher lecturing a class of students. The students learn by listening to the teacher.

Watering holes are used to describe the concept of peer to peer learning that happens during conversations about a particular topic. The conversations could also be with the teachers.

Caves are used to describe the concept of learning from oneself by reflection in solitude. You are conversing with yourself in this mode of learning.

Life is where you bring all the learning from the above three forms and apply it to learn from actual practice.

Current Practice

So what is your take on the percentage of learning that happens from each of the above methods for our school going kids? In the current context, most of our schools have a predominant focus on the campfires. The focus is so clear that our schools are designed and constructed to enable campfire learning.

How much of a watering hole activity do we promote in our schools? Let us try and answer a few questions to understand this. How many times have you had your students come to talk to you about something discussed in class? Do you allocate specific time just for such an activity? Or is it more of an adhoc activity that only a few specific students take advantage of?

Can we encourage “Cave” learning in our schools? How many times have you asked students to put their thoughts about a particular topic together on paper, and how are such assignments completed? Do students actually spend time reflecting on the topic, or do they find “innovative” ways of effective “googling” or find “parental support” in completing such assignments, without actually spending time in the “cave”? What is the importance of reflection in solitude – effectively a form of meditation – in our learning process?

The concept of learning from “Life” happens more as an accident than as a planned activity in the lives of most of students in India.

The Challenge

So how can we as educators plan, encourage and involve students in more than campfire learning? Can we do it? More importantly, should we do it? Let us try to answer the bigger question. If the campfire learning has been in vogue ever since we grew up, and if it worked for us – after all why wouldn't it work for the new generation?

David Thornburg answers this beautifully. The concept of schools as filters – that conduct exams to test students on their campfire learning ability – is a product of the Industrial Age and he says that it has no place in the 21^st century. Industrial Age needed workers who could do the same thing over and over again and do it well. But in today's knowledge economy it is not the case. Today's schools have to provide whatever support is required to help learners achieve excellence. He says that the idea of schools as fixed time activity will be replaced by the concept of continuous learning built around a variety of tools and techniques – that are more appropriate for this era.

If the world around has changed drastically in the last 25 years, why haven't the schools reinvented themselves yet? Why do we find the same typical classroom as the predominant learning platform in our schools today? While we are at it, here is an excellent presentation by Carl Fisch that you wouldn't want to miss... it really drives home several points, and actually raises more questions than we can answer. 

There are more questions in this week's newsletter than answers. I believe the answers are with you, and would like to hear your thoughts on the same.

Next week

Virtual Schooling: Are we ready for it?

Game of the week: GeoSpy on www.missmaggie.org

Audience: Primary to High School

Theme: GeoSpy has been developed in co-ordination with National Geographic. This is where kids can test their knowledge of location of continents, countries, states and provices within a country. A very interactive game that awards points for each correct answer – good activity for a geography class.

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality."