From Incidental to Intentional

The following is an abstract and proposal for a scholarly contribution to a journal -- one that hasn't been accepted (yet!). But it does provide background for those of you interested in the theoretical scope of New World Kids, as well as citations for some of the research that the book is based upon.

By Dr. Cynthia Herbert and Susan Marcus

Most young people now are “digital natives.” (Prensky, 2006) They’ve grown up in the presence and culture of technology and often exhibit far greater facility with its permutations and possibilities than their parents and teachers who, in this same vernacular, are “digital immigrants.” Although the youth have the edge in familiarity, their critical and creative thinking skills in digital media are open to question. And these skills are essential to true literacy. This situation of kids knowing more about the media than the adults is unprecedented. And at the same time, the imperative for education to change, to become more relevant to the needs of the 21st century, and to become more learner-centered has never been stronger.

Is there a way the current imperative for “digital literacy” can improve rather than perpetuate education’s problems? While the digital domains are busy growing and becoming ever more pervasive, brain research and other cognitive and educational studies have discovered keys to more efficient learning for the diverse brains of our young people (Bransford, Brown, Cocking, 2000).

More and more "learning about learning" and mega-analyses of best practices in education (Cole, 1995) now demonstrate what could and should be happening in instruction. But the institution of education has been slow to accommodate what has been learned about learning, much less to accommodate the recent research concerning the changes in students’ brain development brought about by "digital engagement,” including rapid changes in attention.

On another front, modern needs and changes in the workplace urgently call for other kinds of thinking and working skills to be taught. People today pursue careers different from their original education and change careers more than once. Business and industry crave graduates who possess creativity and flexibility…workers with the ability to innovate, solve problems, and continue learning (Robinson, 2001).

These are not the thinking skills that were chosen to be taught long ago when our curricula were created. So, the disconnects between young people, educators, learning and future needs are indeed vast and growing. Is it possible to build new “bridges” between theory and practice that can assist with these crucial issues? The digital revolution is pushing education to catch up or fall hopelessly behind. Many current technology plans devised by schools still focus on often un-needed computer literacy and acquisition of more hardware. Real and encompassing digital literacy, complete with the requisite thinking skills, is not part of the picture.

Not only that, technology as an instructional tool is too often based on an old model of the learner as a vessel to be filled with data. Education seems to persist in doing "business as usual"—folding outdated technology ideas into teaching practices that are less and less effective.

The opportunity is ripe for deepening relevant thinking skills for young people and for using technology as a lever to incorporate what has been learned about learning—and what is good for minds of all kinds—into the educational mainstream.

This paper will explore in depth

(1) what is know known about learning,

(2) what could and should be happening in schools based on this knowledge, and

(3) how technology is implicated in these changes.

Five themes will be addressed:

• Media impacts learning.

• Learning is unique.

• Learning is personal.

• Learning is a creative process.

• Metacognition enhances learning.

Media impacts learning.

Learning is enhanced when learners experience the same skills and concepts in a variety of different media (Olson, 1970). For example, students who retell a story by discussing and acting it out have significantly higher comprehension than others who simply discuss (Salz, Dixon, and Johnson, 1978). A new medium provides a new context, and both skills and knowledge are strengthened when they are practiced/experienced in a variety of contexts (Bransford and Johnson, 1972).

Digital natives already regularly engage in new contexts. But what are they learning? What thinking are they using? Schools still routinely rely on lecture, textbooks, and worksheets to teach and assess learning. Word processing, data bases, spreadsheets, programming, video production, digital photography, virtual worlds, internet research gaming, and publishing offer teachers and curriculum developers new tools for presentation and assessment. More importantly, diverse learners can use the new media to demonstrate what they have learned.

Learning is unique. Different people learn in different ways.

All normal children have varied strengths and skills in eight or more intelligences (Gardner, 1993). Brain studies of individuals with different heredities, environments and circumstances support the notion of uniqueness (Jensen, 1998; Sylwester, 1995; Caine and Caine, 1997). A "one size fits all" notion of curriculum and instruction is inaccurate and sure to stifle, rather than inspire, many learners. "Differentiated instruction" (Tomlinson, 2004) is a new term describing educational practices based on an appreciation of diverse ways of learning. Without having to provide individualized courses of studies, teachers can allow students to learn in their own best ways through a variety of strategies such as using open-ended problems and assignments, including WebQuests (March, 2006) and authoring tools like Pachyderm, PowerPoint and Keynote.

Learning is personal.

What a student feels about learning and the value of the educational experience is the best predictor of whether or not he/she will learn. To go beyond memorization, all learners must relate their own past experiences and current feelings and interests to the concept or skill to be learned. Brain research teaches that emotion and cognition cannot be separated. Current educational practice pays at least lip service to this idea by incorporating some "learner-centered" strategies into instruction, but the very best teachers understand how to use personal issues, humor, challenge and positive emotions to motivate more students and insure more long-lasting learning. However, few teachers know much about the real talents and concerns of their students—including their digital lives. Furthermore, education is enhanced when students feel they belong to a learning community. Students are already experiencing this belonging in chat rooms, through emails, wikis, IM- ming, and other digital communication forms. Could something as impersonal as technology be used by educators to personalize education? Learning is a creative process. Brain studies support the notion that "doing" is essential to learning. Learning creates individual schemas that represent diverse ideas such as "dog," "color," and "justice." Conceptual maps or other graphic organizers, help students show the content and organization of these schemas as well as put them "in their own words." Some learning is more like a script than a map. Students must construct scripts for everything from solving a multi-digit multiplication table to how to ask someone out on a date. Even metacognitive scripts concerning complex problem-solving and other mental activities can be developed and taught (Brown and DeLoache, 1978). Mental skills must be practiced and applied to achieve high levels of performance. Teachers need training to think about learning in this way and to develop instructional practices that reach their "digital natives" and other students.

Metacognition enhances learning.

Students cannot just ingest information—in order to make it their own, they must reflect upon it. One of the easiest strategies for this is the use of reflective journals, diaries, and sketchbooks. The digital equivalents of these are blogs, original websites, and audio or video journals. Other metacognitive skills, including self-monitoring, are enhanced when students routinely reflect on themselves as learners. Model educational programs (Farnham-Diggory, 1979) explore questions such as the following with students: How does my mind work best? What media, including digital media, most easily facilitate my development of ideas into forms and my design of solutions for problems? For the work I just finished, was it my best effort? What constitutes expertise in math or other areas of the curriculum? How can I help myself learn difficult subjects?

:: Overall Implications If we want our young people to be fluent and flexible thinkers, schools (and parents) must re-think the priorities of the current curricula that fill up kids' days. Teachers need training in thinking about thinking and learning. They need experiences in new kinds of media to express thinking and learning. They need a vocabulary for talking about thinking and learning. Digital media can be a great partner in this enterprise, providing new models of expertise as well as platforms for the open-ended creative process and products of the diverse learners in every classroom. Moreover, it can be an essential ingredient in converting the “incidental learnings” brought to school into powerful and intended results.

About the Authors: Dr. Cynthia Herbert and Susan Marcus

Herbert and Marcus were co-founders of the Learning About Learning Educational Foundation, a nationally recognized organization in Texas whose research focused on individuality, creativity, media and play. The LAL Lab School, funded by the NEA, was acknowledged as a national model for learning through the arts. Together they have also co-authored books and other products.

Herbert has over 30 years experience helping educators improve programs for diverse learners, K-12, both statewide and internationally. A developmental psychologist, she is former director of the Texas Alliance for Education and the Arts, at that time, the Texas member of the Kennedy Alliance for Arts in Education Network. Current projects include development of an evaluation design for the Houston school district's "Art Education Matters" project and assessment of the new web portal of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, "Teaching Through Art."

Marcus is principal partner of Foundry/Media, based in Austin and New York, and has 25 years experience as a researcher, educator and designer/writer. While at LAL she produced "Imagination Works," a line of interactive products for the retail market as well as interactive programs and exhibitions for kids, parents and educators. She is currently producing a suite of products and exhibitions for parents and young children. Translating applied research into accessible and entertaining media remains an important focus.