Stuff it took me 20 years to learn – and I’m still trying to figure out
1. Learning is volitional. It cannot be mandated. We can teach, but each person decides for him- or herself what will be absorbed and integrated.
2. What’s taught in the classroom is only the starting point for knowledge-acquisition and skill mastery. Deep learning happens when class is over – the space for real world application and practice.
3. Motivation to learn influences how much work a person is willing to put into self-directed learning and mastery.
4. People are most motivated to learn things that are of direct interest and relevance.
5. Motivation is a state, not a trait. Motivation is largely a product of how we (instructors) engage students.
6. We can amplify students’ engagement by giving them an authentic and substantive voice in co-creating curricula.
7. Paragogy and heutagogy, emerging theories of teaching and learning, point to decentred learning, self-determination, and peer-to-peer learning as core to 21st Century education.
What might paragogical teaching look like in a post-secondary classroom? In this Acclaim interview with Maegan Stephens (Public Speaking as an “Interactive Democracy”), Professor Stephens describes how:
Love it. Can’t wait to try it.
educateria 