Learning is defined by Webster’s dictionary as the skill "to acquire or obtain knowledge". All of us learn something new everyday. But it isn’t necessarily something we will know forever. Chances are we are going to forget and in fact not remember years from now what it was that you learned. The way we really learn something, something that we truly remember, is through our experiences. Whether it was a little life lesson, or learning from a mistake, the fact is that we learn better from experience. A very well known ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius, says "tell me and I will forget, show me, and I may remember, involve me and I will understand.” (age-of-the-sage) One can only learn so much from books and the media can be misinterpreted. Even hard facts can be turned into stories and much can be lost in translation. So who knows if we are ever getting the whole truth?
Being able to experience something first hand is the more memorable and effective learning experience. When a person is able to see the sights, hear the sounds, meet the people, eat the food, be truly involved, there is simply no comparison. Then people really know for themselves and have their very experience to relate to and take ownership of.
It does not matter how many books you have read, how many videos you have watched, how many classes you have taken, or how much knowledge you have in your head. If you have never been on a bike then you do not know how to ride one. This theory applies to any learning.
For instance, the book Simply Alice written by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, it’s far from simple. The novel is the story of a girl and the challenges she faces through her road through adolescence. Throughout the book Alice's priorities cause trouble for her, and she ends up sabotaging the relationship she has between her friends and her boyfriend. One of Alice’s friend regrets not staying with her loving boyfriend, and is beginning to notice a similar thing happening in Alice’s life. As a close friend she warns Alice. Although Alice listens, she ignores what her friend confides and sure enough Alice loses her boyfriend. Here, Alice in fact has learned the mistakes she made. If this experience had not happened to her directly, she could not fully and understood the detrimental potential of her actions. So “learn from your mistakes” as the famous, saying goes.
Experiential learning is a very effective way of learning. It engages people at a deeper level as something they can relate personally. I have learned more about Egypt by going there rather than from any class I have taken, or any book or newspaper I have read. Actually going to Africa, even after reading many books and newspapers, enabled me to come back with a completely new set of facts. Take the guards for instance, who are found everywhere. I did not know weather to be afraid or feel safe. They stood their in full uniform swinging a heavy duty gun on their side. Experience allows a person to learn first hand. They are forced to blend in with the culture and their surroundings. This method allows one to develop new skills, ideas and even an entirely new way of thinking. Seeing a picture captures a moment of the event, but seeing the event up close and being a part of it (even just by observing) is so much more real and captures the real experience. For me, it is like watching a child take their first steps; it’s a moment when you feel like this has an effect on your life. Something you could have never felt or been truly aware of without the actual experience and seeing it for your self.
Little events can teach us the smallest of skills. Simple sidewalk games for example, such as hopscotch, which teaches social skills, and bring a part of a team, its about communication, and learning how to a just your mistake to make them more effective. It is a game that is popular as a way of experiential learning because it is fun. Learning through fun helps the people stay interested for a longer period of time. Or take bungee jumping, the thrill and feeling no one would understand unless they have done it for themselves.
The opposite of experience learning is Freire’s educational method of the “Bank depositing” system of teaching. This is where the teacher is the one with ALL the knowledge who then feds the mindless students information. Information is basically forced fed and they lose the ability to think for themselves. The one and only perspective they ever get is the one from the teacher. This system does not allow students to develop their own ideas or thoughts about anything. With this system I do not see any way there can be any progression. If students all know the same things and have the same ideas, there is no room to expand. Which is method similar to that of the medieval times, called 'Teaching by pouring in'. When they would drill holes in the human head and using a funnel would pour information into the person’s brain. Either way it is not effective.
Living an experience is the most effective, deepest and touches the touches the deepest level of learning. Nothing compares to living with the experience of learning something new, To really know and see something for yourself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The sayings of Confucius Chinese philosopher and sage." age-of-the-sage (2002): n. pag. Web. 26 Apr 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment