"THE LECTURE"

David Wiley’s talk on open education really caused me to think about what’s currently going on in schools and in other institutions.  Our readings in class also further sparked my interest.  I sought find  links between the open learning philosophy and situated cognition.

I found another video clip that is kind of a “response” to David Wiley’s talk about open education (see last post). In the video, we are asked “Where is education going?”  Is education driven by big business? 

He gives a history of the “lecture” and how lectures have been delivered to learners over the centuries.  Lectures --- interesting, gripping, topic?  Actually, yes.  Watching this video had me captivated and caused me to reflect on current practices.  His last sentence really struck a chord with me:  just because you earned a degree by being lectured (for the most part), was your degree really an indicator to potential employees as an indicator of your skills?  Even harsher, will lecturing continue “unhindered by the developments of technology”?

Take a look!

Are we still relying on “the lecture”?  Even though it’s a parody, is this really pure sarcasm or is he really that far off from what’s actually going on in schools, universities, and training programs?

This short clip caused me to think about points Driscoll makes in her chapter about situated cognition. Driscoll (2005) states “learning is a co-constitutive process in which all participants change and are transformed through their actions in the world” (p. 159) Lecturing is not very “co-constitutive” but it’s a teaching strategy still heavily used today!  Brown et al. (as cited in Driscoll, 2005) indicate that students often end up having “inert knowledge” and are unable to apply what they’ve learned in real-life situations (p. 161).  I get the classic question in my math courses, "When are we going to use this in real life?"  Do we have to have an answer to this question every time?  Maybe not, but we should at least indicate to the students where they are going, why, and make the material applicable as much as possible.  Driscoll also notes that learners should be able to be able to be an “apprentice”, interact with the learning community, and be allowed to reflect critically on their learning.  Lecturing is one way – but it’s still so popular!  I guess you can think critically after the lecture when you are at home.  So, open-learning and situated learning could go hand in hand.  It allows one to access to learning, all the while being social at the same time.

I do feel efforts are being made for collaborative learning.  I was just discussing with my grade 12 students about course selections at the university for next year.  Many signed up for “learning communities”.  Online courses are offering opportunities to collaborate, even from a distance.  Is anything else being done, or is the change occurring at a slower rate than it should?  Or, is it just policy holding us back?

Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3^rd ed). Boston, MA: Pearson

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