The short answer: That's what I'm trying to figure out. Thinking out loud on this topic is why I started this blog (which would have been called "Thoughtful Learning" had that not already been the name of an educational publisher) .
The longer answer: The term "thoughtful
learning" as I use it deliberately carries a twofold
meaning: learning experiences that allow students to think and
thoughtfully designed teaching. The two go together, as it takes a
good deal of imagination and reflection to create such learning
experiences. Thoughtful learning develops from coherent relationships
between the teacher, the students, the subject matter and the
environment in which learning takes place.
The ingredients of
thoughtful learning are human connection, coherence, good questions, time and space to
reflect, and a fit between the
subject, the circumstances and the method.
I believe that to make
thoughtful learning happen, we need a synthesis between (not just a mix of) traditional and active methods of teaching with attention to the context in
which learning takes place.
The bullet points: Teaching for thoughtful learning is
- Teaching information in a coherent way, not as a series of disjointed facts to be memorized by rote, while recognizing the importance of knowing key facts.
- Recognizing that the deepest thought often takes place in silence and solitude, while appreciating the contribution of a lively discussion.
- Understanding how much guidance beginners need, while seeing Leonard Cohen's line, "There's a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in" as highly applicable to teaching.
- Valuing activity as a way of promoting thought, not an end in itself.
- As teachers, aiming for the fluency to choose an appropriate technique for the situation rather than mechanically sticking to one approach.
- ???
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