Feeling learning
I’m still grappling with how to help our passive Year 12 student. I hope you’ll forgive me for dwelling in this space.
Today I switched perspective and imagined her as my daughter.
And then I thought of the advances in cognitive science.
Static computer-based metaphors focusing on storage and transference from short-term to long-term memory are outdated. Now, we know that cognition is a dynamic, embodied and enacted process arising from the interaction between an organism and its world.
No learning without embodied, enacted interaction. (But maybe test scores).
What would you like her teacher to do if she were your daughter? — Disregard the landscape of her inner-world?
An organism is more than a brain. It is a system. What we feel is part of that system. Ergo, we cannot talk about learning without considering the landscape of her inner-world — it cannot be disregarded.
If she were my daughter, I’d want the teacher to take the approach anchored in what we know about cognition. And this means the teacher understands her inner-world is relevant.
How do we bring her inner-world into the learning at school? By interacting with her, getting to know her, talking with her. In other words, showing we care1, and giving that process time.
If we have a system that doesn’t allow time for that, well … then we have a system that’s ok with writing kids off in the name of efficiency.
You ok with that?
Check out Nel Noddings’ work if you want to explore the idea of care in education further.