Ever feel like your learners are ‘stuck’? Do you see them doing the same thing time after time? Repetition is important in learning, but not all repetition is created equal. There’s the kind we often think of, where it’s associated with honing a skill or understanding. And then there’s another kind that I think is more associated with indicating a limit of skill or knowledge: the same thing is done over and over because that’s all that’s known.
When learners have agency, the latter rears its head regularly. When it does, it’s an opportunity for us to recognise a potential for learning and act. Repetition, regardless of the kind, does indicate interest, but interest will wane if it’s left without support and can’t develop.
An example: do you have a bunch of learners who tend to deconstruct things in random ways over and over, exhibiting a sense of thrill as they go about pulling something to bits? I feel your frustration. What’s the point of deconstructing something though? It gets ‘old’ after a while if that’s all there is. In the real world, which is the world learners want to be in, the point of deconstructing something is to put it back together, and that can take many forms: up cycling, repairing, repurposing, etc. That’s the meat in this context isn’t it, especially for older learners; how can you invite engagement with it? What experiences, connections, relationships, knowledge, tools, questions, resources, etc can you inject? We’re talking about Vygotsky here now aren’t we.
A question I found useful in helping me think those things through in my work with older learners as they ‘played’ is
If this was real, what would be happening?
Ask it this week of some repetitive learning and see what it unlocks for you.