College Education

The debate was already red hot before this video by Professor Daniel T Willingham from the University of Virginia (brought to my attention by Stephen Downes) added fuel to the fire. On the one side are the learning and development romantics, all voodoo and crystals, holding firm to their pseudo-psychological beliefs. On the other, the cold, clinical and calculating rationalists, trying to make sense of the multitude of interacting variables that impact on teaching and learning by resorting to the ultimate killjoy that is science. You can guess which side I’m on.

No-one doubts that learners differ in terms of personality and preferences, but whether these can be usefully categorised as learning styles is highly debatable and certainly unproven. Teachers and trainers do, anyway, have far more important issues to consider when considering their interactions with learners. By far the most important of these, as far as I’m concerned, is the nature of the learning to be achieved (concepts, principles, rules, facts, social skills, psychomotor skills, problem-solving skills, attitudes, etc.).

Obviously learner differences are important, but there are more significant issues than their personality and preferences, for example:

• their motivation to learn the subject in question (if the motivation’s not there, it has to be stimulated);
• their prior knowledge of the subject (novices need more structure and support);
• the extent to which they’ve learned how to learn (independent learners will be much less demanding);

And let’s not forget that we also have to work within the constraints set by time, budget, facilities, equipment, tools and skills. Yes, we have enough to think about, without trying to develop alternative routes through learning experiences to pander to some vague conception of individual preferences.

I don’t blame the learning styles believers; I blame those who’ve filled their minds with confusing and ultimately unhelpful theories dressed up as science. If learning styles do exist, go on somebody, prove it.

Source: Clive Shepherd

This was the question that Professor Gilly Salmon asked at her presentation at ALT-C in Leeds yesterday. Now I’m a bit of a fan of Gilly’s work as a pioneer in the field of collaborative online distance learning. She stands out as an academic who’s able to communicate in simple terms to a wide audience, with the pragmatism and common sense that can only be acquired through practice. And she has a new book coming out soon on podcasting, although now I’m beginning to sound like a chat show host.

In Gilly’s current role, she’s exploring learning futures, hence the question that she posed in her presentation. Well, here’s some of the ideas that were fed back to her by the primarily academic audience:

What if …

• there weren’t any universities?
• teachers were required to be creative in the way they approached their students?
• excellence in teaching were rewarded?
• learners were allowed to play more?
• universities and schools were less independent and shared resources better?
• educational establishments had to innovate?
• teachers let go and allowed learners to direct the learning experience?
• universities realised that they didn’t own their students?
• learning technologists actually helped each other?

Apologies that these suggestions are not credited and that I probably missed a few.

A recurring theme in this list and in my conversations at the conference in general was how decentralised and uncoordinated activity appeared to be for educational technologists working in the educational sector. I can see how decentralisation can be seen as a positive attribute when applied to teaching, which has of course been the principle activity of educational establishments, but less so when applied to design and development, especially of learning content. No one establishment seems to have the time, money or expertise to develop the world-class content that we need to solve the educational problems shared by millions. Surely there is a call here for the sort of money that only governments can call upon, to bring together the very best expertise available anywhere to take projects of this sort ahead with passion and without compromise. Great work can be achieved by cottage industries but not always on the scale needed to solve problems of global proportion.

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