Learning about Learning

Think back to positive and/or important learning experiences that you've had - whether in school or outside school. Describe the context. What was going on? Who was there? How did you feel? What were you doing? What do you feel facilitated your learning? What made this learning experience such a positive one?  Five years ago, my family decided to go back to the Philippines for a vacation.  To make the trip more meaningful, we decided to ask friends and coworkers for donations of toys, canned goods, and school supplies that we could take to the Philippines to distribute to people in need.  It became a life changing experience for me when I involved my two young daughters in personally handing out these resources to poor families, blind people, and needy children. 

I made arrangements with a teacher from a low-budget public school for my daughters to spend a couple of days in the classroom with Filipino children.  I wanted my girls to understand how Filipino children live a life of hope and contentment even if they are growing up in a developing country and don’t have things that most people in USA take for granted.  

This was an outside-school learning experience for me and my family and helped me to realize that learning is more meaningful when undertaken at the actual setting rather than just talking about it in the comfort of our American house or an American classroom.  My family had the opportunity to see firsthand true-to-life experiences of people living in a different culture, which facilitated empathetic thinking and encouraged social responsibility.

 
How would you describe the context of learning in the video?  This video demonstrated how Kevin and Ryan,two students from Shorecrest High School, applied core knowledge of science, math, grammar and writing they have learned in a classroom to real-life projects outside the classroom to further reinforce meaningful experiences.  They developed skills in multimedia design and took unpaid internship with Seattle's Space Needle Corporation to receive academic credit.  Their developed interest and expertise led them to their internship at Microsoft. This is a great approach to having a better learning experience, that is, through applying the knowledge and skills learned in school to the real world.

Remembering our earlier discussions of cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes to learning, how would you describe the students' learning in the video? Do you notice any similarities or differences with your own account of powerful learning?  We previously learned that knowledge cannot be separated from affective (feeling) components.  This was illustrated in the video when the two students displayed commitment and motivation while working on the project.  I see similarities between my learning and their learning when we were all given an opportunity to be exposed to real-life situations.  We were able to express our desire to be creative in gaining the learning experiences, the drive, and the inspiration to produce quality work.