Response to Seymour Papert and a word for learning

The world according to Papert seems a bit unrealistic. If I had to summarize this chapter I would say that Papert (piggy backing on Polya and Peck) believes that education should be focused on the art of learning and modern education should be adjusted so that learners have the opportunity to spend relaxed time with problems (“play with problems”) and that good discussion promotes learning. At the root of Papert’s discussion is a valid cause and I find worth in the idea of further focus on teaching learning principles, time to work with task and discussion. But it just seems that the example professed in the work are far-fetched (the link to the Victorian’s and sexual thoughts, - come on), loose in research and hard to link to the real demands of educating a student as a whole.

I found so many problems with this article not because of what I eventually figured out to be the premise but because I feel teachers use so many solutions in today’s classroom to fix or fit all of the examples the author discussed. Which I feel from a teacher’s standpoint means that we have placed an emphasis on the art of learning. Within every page of the chapter (except the long winded discussion of flowers) I found myself writing in the side bar teacher practices that can combat or allow for the problem the author addresses. I walk away from this article only with a realization that a teacher faced with the parameters in which they face, must employ a wide variety of approaches, skills, and methods and that they must be multi-faceted in order to meet the needs of the learner.

After review of the notes I took during reading this chapter on proper/positive learning environments, social learning, inquiry, Blooms taxonomy, homework, parental influence, problem solving, school constraints, life long learning, assessment, active learning, direct instruction, standards based learning, clear objectives, construction of knowledge, motivation, learning modalities, linking/chunking, long and short term memory, play, problem solving, and research, I feel that the best teaching practice that can help teachers and students with the art of learning is called modeling. In quick review on the topic of modeling within a text I turn to quite a bit during teaching called the Skillful Teacher, modeling was actually labeled in the text as “modeling: the principle of learning”(Saphier, & Gower, 1997). A brief introduction to modeling is teachers enhance learning by thinking aloud for students; teachers go though the act of thinking (can be from a variety of methods to solve the problem) step-by-step role-playing the thought processes involved in solution of a problem. Teachers include being puzzled, making mistakes, self-correcting, and checking themselves along the way. This can be transferred even further by a concept with-in modeling called Say-Do where the students are provide an opportunity to explain how they solved a problem to the class or to a group of students. Modeling allows teacher to promote the act of learning including giving time to play with problems and good discussion. I think that the proper use of modeling can help teachers practice actively use the art of learning.






References:

Saphier, J., & Gower, R. (1997). The skillful teacher (5th ed.). Acton, MA: Research For
Better Teaching, Inc.

Papert, S. (1993). The children’s machine: Rethinking schools in the age of the computer.
New York: Basic Books