Week 8

Shantiniketan:  Informal learning in a formal classroom leading to interest-driven achievement

Yesterday I learned that one of my favorite poets, Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, opened a school in West Bengal that meant to be a stark contrast from the Western education to which he was subjected.  At this school, the students enjoyed spending time outside in nature, learning in some of the same ways that people in ancient India did.

"The schools in our country, far from being integrated to society, are imposed on it from the outside. The courses they teach are dull and dry, painful to learn, and useless when learnt," he said, wanting to establish an institution that was more aligned to the needs and culture of his students.   He goes on to say "Nature, the greatest or all teachers, is thwarted at every step by the human teacher who believes in machine-made lessons rather than life lessons, so the growth of the child’s mind is not only injured, but forcibly spoiled."

After reading about this, I enjoyed reading the section in chapter 17 on informal learning.  I'm not sure if Tagore's ideal for public education was any less formal than its Western counterpart, but it certainly represented a break from the usual business of learning from chalkboards and textbooks.  

According to the text, there are six factors that make up informal learning:

1.  Nature of the outcomes:  No tests.  No scantrons.  Nothing that might remotely involve rote memorization.  Students could learn about haiku and other nature poetry and then try to write their own, and their efforts could be shared amongst themselves.

2.  Nature of the experience:  Often students will raise their hands in the middle of class and ask how much time is left.  I'll admit, some of what the state wants us to make sure the students know is dreadfully boring (despite an instructor's best efforts to make it interesting).  If students were outside and engaged in writing haiku, it might be something they might enjoy more than sitting in uncomfortable chairs under artificial light.  

3.  Origin: Students come up with the idea for the project.  The students can brainstorm about things they'd like to study/research, and it won't truly be informal unless it's their idea.  In this case, students might be interested in learning about Thoreau and other American transcendentalists and being outside could help them to better understand his ideas.  On the other hand, the prevailing interest could be in vampire fiction through the ages--an instructor that chooses to pursue this has to be open.

4.  Role of the student or employee:  For this practice, a "willing, active individual" is essential.  There can be no learning in this sense if the student feels like he or she is being dragged along.

5.  Role of the instructor:  This is where the "sage on the stage" becomes the "guide on the side."   For this practice to work, there can be no more boring lectures (or even hilarious powerpoint presentations that feature Far Side cartoons).  The teacher functions as coach, guiding students to make their own discoveries.

6.  Role of the instructional designer:  Although it might seem "offhand and natural," everything needs to be carefully planned as to not allow for the experience to quickly fall apart.  In the case of a high school department trying to implement some aspects of informal learning, maybe faculty members could create an online PLC (professional learning community) to allow for collaboration.

I'd like to give my future students a chance to learn informally about a topic of their choosing at some point, but I think #6 is most critical--there has to be a plan and it has to be well thought-out and able to be adjusted in case of contingency.