I learn from Society.
From the perspective of educational psychology, behaviorism thrived before the 1970s. The classical conditioning (e.g. Pavlov, Watson and reinforce…), operant conditioning (e.g. Thorndike, Skinner, contingency and shaping…) and social learning theory(e.g. Bandura, observational learning and modeling…) were hits in the field of educational psychology then. (Social learning theory belongs to Neo-behaviorism, it contains a majority of cognitive psychology.)
At the moment, both behaviorism and cognitive psychology play crucial roles since their approaches to education are quite different but all reasonable.
PBL and cognitive psychology
PBL can stand for two terms, which are “problem-based learning” and “project-based learning” respectively. Project-based learning is more like a real form of problem-based learning’s outcome, but they’re actually no many differences.
Here’s the definition of problem-based learning:
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which complex real-world problems are used as the vehicle to promote student learning of concepts and principles as opposed to direct presentation of facts and concepts. In addition to course content, PBL can promote the development of critical thinking skills, problem-solving abilities, and communication skills. It can also provide opportunities for working in groups, finding and evaluating research materials, and life-long learning (Duch et al, 2001).
And the explanation of project-based learning is:
Project-based learning is a category of experiential learning where students are presented with a complex problem or question that has multiple potential solutions and possibilities for exploration. However, after studying this problem or question in their teams, students are challenged to develop a plan and create a product or artifact that addresses the problem. These projects, if done well, require students to use many of their core skills including critical thinking, teamwork, communication, empirical and quantitative analysis, and personal and social responsibility.
To put it in simple words, both learning strategies involve meta-cognition and experiential learning. And they all indicate the future trend of education which is to equip students with the abilities to address the real-world problem by applying knowledge and creativity.
The way I learn is…
Knowledge can be divided into three main types, including declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge. In ordinary school, we used to cram for a test and memorize a lot of unnecessary knowledge, so our motivation has been consumed in a short period of time.
In college, I started to broaden my ways of gaining knowledge. Listening to podcasts, joining parades, attending workshops, conducting experiments, and so forth. I personally think declarative knowledge is important but insufficient to tackle a real-world problem. And by augmenting the ways I input and output knowledge, I soon realize how important is learning from society.
There’re lots of terms that explain PBL, such as reasoning, algorithm, heuristic, and so on, but I don’t want to completely explain my ways of learning through these terms because I think that will be too restrictive and old-school.
Taiwanese 108 curriculum guidelines emphasize the importance of competencies(素養), which is a combination of knowledge, abilities, and attitude. And since competencies focus more than knowledge, it’s time to foster our kids to be problem solvers.
Audrey Tang once said, if you carry a problem into a school and you learn for solving it, school experience will not just be a diploma for you. I totally agree with that and I try to gain more experience to test and doubt the knowledge I learned from textbooks.
I learn from society and then innovate society.
Keep exploring…
