Cycle of Learning

Cycle of Learning

Introduction

For years, we have experienced classrooms, both as students and as teachers, that were evidence of content consumption. When we think of content consumption, the analogy of nature might be applied. From creatures as small as an ant, to those as large and voracious as a lion, consumption is necessary for survival. Their ability to carry out life processes, to include growth an development, reproduction and even hunting or foraging requires energy that is gained from the consumption of food. Like animals, we consume food, but also knowledge and the awareness of the world around us. We take in sensory information, we read books, news headlines, and we listen to lectures, podcasts, music. Unlike the animals though, we are gifted with the capacity to do more than simply exist and carry out biological processes. We are not limited to simply intake. We have the ability to do so much more and we should do so much more, given our capacity.

Content Consumption

I remember my days of K-12 school, filled with days of sitting quietly, listening to the teacher of record in the classroom, deliver content knowledge through the use of his or her voice, powerpoint presentation, audio-visual content, or guided notes. At the time, that was the status quo, what was accepted and largely, what was expected. The teacher knew the content, and students relied on the teacher to interpret the expectations of standards or benchmarks and align their teaching to fit them. Teachers were trusted (which I believe they should be) to unpack what was necessary for students to learn and deliver it to students in manageable chunks. The teachers were the experts and they had (have) all the knowledge that students need to acquire for the day, month, semester or school year. This was the thought process. This was what ‘was.’ But, isn’t teaching and learning so much more than that? Isn’t there more that we hope to gain from education? If the core of our work is to produce those that are types and shadows of us, then perhaps it makes sense to be the one who has all the knowledge.

I tend to disagree with any notion of one human person having all knowledge. I believe that we all have strengths, experiences and interests in various areas, all of which play a role in reaching understanding. Moreover, is the teacher the absolute when it comes to content? Do we consume the content deliver by a teacher within a classroom space or otherwise and take it as golden, not needing validation, confirmation or further explanation? That is not to say that the teacher isn’t equipped or knowledgeable in his or her respective discipline or field. However, literary, digital or otherwise, relies on ones ability to not just “believe” everything you hear or read. I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have seen my students believe me, perhaps because I have established myself as a person of credibility.

Nothing gives me more joy than to know that not only are students positioned to consume information or knowledge that I’ve conveyed, but that they are poised to find the information I didn’t convey. Or, perhaps they are inspired to find out MORE information than I was able to cover within the allotted time frame of whatever the length, because we are bound by time.

Content Seeking

Content seeking is a process of searching for information that is relevant to a particular need. If I need to know more about blogging besides what might be shared by an English teacher, I may use a search engine to find examples of blogs. The idea of content seeking is evident in college-level work, when the research paper includes instructions to find relevant sources to support claims being made by the writer. I often wonder why this isn’t more evident leading up to college classes. The idea of learning how to find credible sources of information is essential, with particular emphasis on “credible.” There is so much information out there and it’s not all true. So, teaching students to be curious enough about finding information that you didn’t provide to them is one thing. Being able to evaluate the truthfulness of those sources is another thing altogether, however I find these are equally important. How do you inspire students to ‘want to know more’ about a topic so that they, on their own, seek it out on their own?

Like many things, I find modeling this content seeking of vital importance. I talk out loud while generating search terms as well as places to look for said items. I believe that embedded in this ‘modeling’ is curiosity or a desire to know (Case & Given, 2016). Perhaps, by inspiring cognitive dissonance through the act of expressing certain information while at the same time, leaving out information, or providing information up to a certain degree, would provoke the learner to try to lessen cognitive dissonance by finding information to close the gap. Case & Given (2016) further highlight until that gap is realized, the motivation to seek out information is not present. Leon Festinger (1957) prescribes two ways of reducing dissonance: by changing our cognition through adding, subtracting, or re-interpreting information OR by changing the environment. Cognition is generally the feasible process, as environment may be out of a person’s control. By coaxing students into a desire to add or even re-interpret information through seeking takes learning from mere consumption, to a new level.

Content Creation

I’ve always believed creation to be the highest form of learning. In line with our understanding of Bloom’s Taxonomy, synthesis is the art of taking what we know, combining that with what we learn in order to come by something new - a new way of seeing, a new way of doing, a new way of understanding. When we synthesize, we are taking pieces of information, and compiling it, like the putting together of a puzzle. You might say that the more information or puzzle pieces we have, the bigger the puzzle, and the greater the synthesis. Having recently finished a dissertation on the perceptions of educators, both nationally and internationally on home visits, from their definitions to their perceptions of them, I can see clearer how those puzzle pieces work together to create the big picture of learning. Not every educator had the same view, but many shared views and others had views that were dependent on the context and geography. From investigating this topic prior to conducting the research, a foundation was made. After completing the research, many takeaways were had. Essentially, the synthesis that took place allowed me to develop theoretical understanding for how teacher perceptions.

Additionally, the creation of one’s philosophy relies on prior knowledge. Core values are a prerequisite for developing a statement of belief. If, like my own philosophy of teaching and learning, it is an acronym, underneath each letter is meaning and purpose. Deriving such a focus depends also upon a person’s experiences, or situatedness. In other words, we speak and act out of our experiences. Who we are is refined by our experiences and along that journey, we learn what works, what doesn’t work and the process is ongoing. The CLIMBE philosophy of teaching and learning is noted below, a product of creation.

CLIMBE

The original iteration, which has since been edited so that the “E” removes “enrich,” and depicts “empower.”

Content Sharing

As the cliche goes, knowledge is only as good as the ability for it to be shared. It makes complete sense. If we come by knowledge, whether through consumption, seeking or creation and keep it all to ourselves, what really is the benefit. Moreover, taking the time, and sometimes risk to share it can make all the difference in one’s confidence as well as support what we would want to see happen more often - sharing! Will your content be seen as useful for others? Will it add to the body of knowledge? Will it be mind-blowing or relevant to the work that many others are doing? Until it’s shared, one may never know the degree to which the work he or she does may influence others for years to come. It may inspire others to share and see value in their own pursuits. Sharing could also lead to further opportunities for you to share your learning in a way that only you can. As I recently coined, “no one can do you, or be you, like you, but you.” It is important that we all see value in what we bring to the table and seeing it through the cycle of learning (which never ends) means that we support lifelong learning.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, I believe that as humans, as students, as lifelong learners, limiting the knowledge we gain to what we absorb from others limits our ability to influence, inspire and impact. That is not to say that knowledge gained that way isn’t useful; perhaps it just makes us as useful as the individual who shared it with us. By going further to content seeking, we are able to find more relevant, more up-to-date, more well-rounded information on a topic that may not have been shared. Bearing that in mind, if I know that knowledge is about more than “knowing,” then I seek knowledge, while analyzing and synthesizing in order to arrive at a new perspective, viewpoint or understanding. Those novel ideas or views can then be shared, furthering the learning processes for us all as we continue to deal with those topics. It adds to the body of research out there, the body of knowledge.

References

Case, D. O., & Given, L. M. (2016). Looking for information: A survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior.

Festinger, L. (1957) A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Reid, T. (2021). Rules for living and how I began to break them: The influence of creative practice and cognitive dissonance on personal growth.