If it was that simple, we’d all be doing it, right? When looking at the differences outlined by Seth Godin in regard to connecting versus collecting the dots, educators everywhere are likely scrunching up their noses at the idea that in order to move learners towards meaningful connections we have to essentially do away with the overload of data, cut out the need to memorize content for tests, and simply focus on the delivery of content. Unfortunately, this is the complete opposite of what is expected to occur in most traditional school settings. This notion and the strong hold that testing has on the school system is what keeps learners in a position of ‘novice’, despite multiple years of a subject, that in theory should be moving them along towards the phase of ‘mastery’.
Robert McKelvain suggested that the primary difference between an expert and a novice lies in the ability to develop a conceptional framework (Harapnuik, 2018). When I was still in the classroom the expectation was that as the teacher, I was the expert on the content being delivered, and in many cases, this was somewhat true. The problem with this logic comes into play when students view themselves as novice, unable to move towards the level of expert. If an expert is merely someone who is able to pull from the knowledge they’ve acquired across different concepts, then students can also become experts. The hardest part is showing students how they too can be experts and share that level of expertise with other novice students (peers) to help elevate them as well. I think that a large part of why it is hard to get students to believe in this way of thinking is due in part to the emphasis placed on competency-based learning. As Dr. Harapnuik and Dr. Thibodeaux points out in their discussion of the concepts of competency versus outcome based education, outcome based education does not lend itself to the real-world problems and projects which are often hard to measure or standardized (Harapnuik, 2020).
As I look ahead in this course and in the program as a whole, I find myself understanding more of why the need for significant learning environments is so essential. In order to ensure that learners are learning, and growing educators have to focus on creating significant learning environments where COVA is present. By doing this it helps the learner and the facilitator think more about where the learner will be at the end of a course, rather than where they currently fall. To me this applies to my own learning as well, as I move through each course within this program, I constantly find myself looking towards the “Big Hair Audacious Goal,” and remind myself to treat each tasks as a building block toward the BHAG.
References Harapnuik, D. (2021, January 18). Collecting dots vs connecting dots. Harapnuik.org. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8672. Harapnuik, D. (2020, May 23). Why I Don’t Use Checklists, Progress Bars & Other Activity Monitors. Harapnuik.org. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8314
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