I am not sure I am applying the learning and instruction paradigms correctly but these are my thoughts as I began to read chapter 11.
As I read chapter 10 and got into chapter 11, I stopped and did some quick self reflection. I found that when I was in undergrad, I was in the instruction paradigm mindset. I did everything surface level. The thought, "I wonʻt ever need to know this again" constantly ran through my head in core courses. My mind was completely focused on getting a good grade so that I could pass in order to get my degree.
It was not until my senior year where I was able to do a senior project in which I worked hands on with an industry rep to produce a software product usable by my client. This opened my eyes to the real industry and what it would be like as a computer scientist. While the experience in itself was the first experience I had that really showed true value in the work field.
For me, I did most of my growth outside of the class, another thing mentioned by Tagg. I was a Resident Assistant in the halls and my boss was my professional mentor. The RA position was a live-in position and while it was not a curriculum enforced institution, the growth and experiences I got from that position with her guidance is what has driven me into the Educational Admin department at UHM.
Not only did my reflection indicate to me that my undergrad was an instructional paradigm, but also that my grad school experience is definitely a learning paradigm. Now while the curriculum and course I am in are not building the curriculum necessarily around a learning paradigm, I am making conscious decisions that make me feel as though I am. For instance, each project that I am assigned in a course, my undergrad thought process would be to do it the quickest and fastest way. This is completely opposite of my thoughts on approaching projects today.
Nowadays, if I get to interview someone or do research or write a report, I think long and hard about what topic I can choose in order to further my knowledge in some place of my OWN interests. For instance I work in student housing, in my research course right now I will need to write a research proposal. The first part is to simply choose what you would like to research about. For me this is an instance where I want to incorporate my experiences and my interests into my work to apply the classroom work to my community and to my own professional growth.
Do you think that it is possible to reach this state of mind or appreciation for learning in undergrad? What can we do in high schools to prepare to transition into such an environment?
How do we construct this type of mindset? Is it something that an equation can be created to produce?
I appreciate your post. I have had similar reflections about the contrasting experiences of an instruction paradigm in undergrad and the learning paradigm in grad school. I have also thought about some of the assignments I give to my high schoolers, and I know I need incorporate more thought-provoking activities, where students can apply their interests to make it more applicable. I think we can start to construct this type of mindset by acknowledging the individuality of students— by allowing multiple voices, giving different types of knowledge a place, and by engaging learning in various ways both inside and outside of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteOh, and on a side note, I LOVE the background picture. Mahalo!
There are a lot of variables involved to change mindsets from the instruction paradigm to the learning paradigm. One issue involved, I think, is instructor autonomy, especially in high school where the curriculum is highly regulated with benchmarks and state/national standardized tests. It is the "Well this is how I've always done it so why are you making me change the way I run my classroom?" We might have a better chance changing students in college. A new environment, a new mindset. We would have to break down their instruction paradigm expectations and ease them into the learning paradigm. Maybe a mandatory freshman seminar led by instructors who are trained in and believe in the learning paradigm (ever had a lower division class led by a professor who couldn't believe s/he got stuck teaching a 100 level class?). But there would also need to be further implementation in the following years so that students advance in the learning paradigm instead of reverting back to the instruction paradigm. I don't know how hard it is to change the curriculum of an entire institution, but I am guessing it is pretty hard.
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