wesleyp's blog

The article “Smart People or Smart Contexts” echos some of the previous arguments that we’ve covered earlier in the semester; explaining that learning limitations exist when traditional teaching methods separate the student from the material with the only connection between the two  coming from the teacher attempting to “transfer knowledge into the head of the learner.” Students learn more effectively when they are put in control or in hands on situations.

My favorite quote from the article is “Talent development is a process that involves doing, not acquiring.”  If a student is learning how to drive, you can only teach them so much without letting them get behind the wheel and learn for themselves. We all know that no matter how much time is spent in the classroom learning how to drive, it is the hands on, driving with the instructor experience that proves to be the most beneficial. When I’m behind the wheel and my mother starts be a back-seat driver, she always lets me know how many years she’s been driving; not how much time she has spent in the classroom or how much time she has spent reading about driving.

The article also states that talent and the ability to learn is not held within an individual, but in the interaction and environment that is being utilized. I find this interesting because it is stating that the ability to learn by anyone is only as strong as the learning environment that has been created for the students. For the most part, I can agree with this argument. Throughout college, I have seen students take advantage of tutoring sessions and group studying techniques that enriched their ability to comprehend materials from the most difficult courses. This allowed them to get the A’s and B’s while other students failed. They weren’t just naturally “smarter”, they just sought out the learning environments that helped them beyond what the instructor provided.