Here I will place some of my research under this topic “elementary school and traditional learning” that I have used for my research paper, along with related supplementary research or media (videos/images/graphs) to compliment my work. I have also included my personal definitions of what “traditional learning” and “experiential learning” are under the “definitions” tab, and will be referencing those specific definitions within this page.
I found this picture of the “traditional education cycle” which I found to be an accurate representation of what the current k-12 system looks like.
This is a physical representation of the “traditional” system not encouraging self-reflection, self-discovery and “thinking outside the box”. I believe the lack of encouragement to “think outside the box” ultimately results in “staying within the box”, or at least makes it more difficult to branch out.
Stefanie Garber tells a personal story about a boy “kyle” who she mentored. Kyle would skip many of his classes except for his fourth period class, which turned out to be a STEM class. In this STEM class kyle and his classmates were building a paddle-wheel which would generate lights once finished. When Garber visited this class she heard the students complaining that the class was too short and that they wanted more time because all of the students in this class were so engaged and interested in what they were doing. It is amazing to see how much a students attitude can shift when they are excited to learn.
Garber also discusses that when she talks to the older students, she feels upset because of how uninterested the older children are in learning and continuing their education. Also how our ancestors created this structure for the industrialized nation, which worked. However, she acknowledges that the workers we need now are much different. Garber overall sees the dire need for a shift in our education system.
This is a picture from our week 2 in-class discussions in reference to the Schon & Kolb readings. This question, “does public school adequately support children’s learning?” is a question that my group and I pondered. I personally believe that our k-12 public school system, according to my person experience, was adequate. However, I believe we deserve so much more than adequate from our education system. Looking back now, being almost graduated from my degree at SFU, I believe there were many gaps in our needs as students in the k-12 public school system.
Does experiential learning create more adaptable adults? 