What do Research Studies Indicate?

  
     
"A simple question to ask is, 'How has the world of a child changed in the last 150 years?" And the answer is, "It's hard to imagine any way in which it hasn't changed! "
— Peter Senge, senior lecturer Massachusetts Institute of Technology

However, our classrooms are more like they were 150 years ago than they are different.

Two new Research Studies that should be of interest:

  • (1) Students learn better when engaging their large muscles.
  • (2) Students learn better when getting off their rears.
  • (3) Students learn better when the learning is AUTHENTIC - solving real-world problems (learning-by-doing) OR Experiential Learning

Conversation with a Young Adult: Stop treating us as if we wanted “milk” when we have been leaving the church in droves because we don’t have any answers to real-world issues.   

The Problem: GOOGLE IT!

The Needed: Judgment, patience, reflection, discernment, creative problem-solving, flexibility, a solid understanding of the Word.

 The Solution: Teach them to use 21st Century tools and to become publishers with the tools. They cannot win the world for Christ by merely sitting inside a church building.

Students immersed in authentic learning activities cultivate the kinds of "portable skills" that are often difficult for adults to demonstrate. These are:

  1. • The judgment to distinguish reliable from unreliable information  (Internet Information Overflow)
  2. • The patience and reflection to follow longer arguments (Not caught up in empty arguments - 1 Timothy 6-20-21)
  3. • The creative ability to recognize relevant patterns in unfamiliar contexts (Who's your Daddy? God, the creator or the Devil, the destroyer?) Help students reach potential!
  4. • The flexibility to work collaboratively (one with another) across disciplinary and cultural boundaries to generate innovative solutions(1) ( Romans 14-19 AND John 13-34 AND Romans 12-10 AND  Romans 14-13)

PRODUCTS OF AUTHENTIC LEARNING:

  • Student-created media - Communicating to the Real-World
  • Working with Research Data - Discovering Real-World Needs
  • Service Projects that Affect Real-world Environment - Changing Lives
  • Reflecting and Documenting Achievements - Growing through Reflection and Expression

According to Dewey, learning is a social behavior. Learning through cooperation, research, negotiation, discussion, planning, and action helps students to enjoy learning and retain concepts longer.

According to Some Scientist - People Live to Express Themselves.

HOW are students Expressing themselves in your Classroom?

Resources:

(1) Authentic Learning

(2) http://www.p21.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=254&Itemid=120