I think that’s right. Also, Zhanyu could have chosen a much shorter post to read and comment on and still fulfilled the requirement. Presumably there’s something happening on both sides: the post was interesting and engaging enough to warrant the investment, and Zhanyu got more out of the experience as a result.

I agree that it isn’t always necessary to be an extrovert, but some of the example “active learning” techniques seemed to heavily favor them. Consider Dr. Carnes’s Athenian politics game, where each student takes on a role of an Athenian leader after the Delian League’s loss in the Peloponnesian war. Sounds fantastic, but man would an introvert hate playing along, especially in high school.

What active learning activities do you, as an introvert, enjoy?

I’d be interested to see more comprehensive studies also. The problem of gauging the student’s knowledge remains a significant confounder – it may simply be that the standard curriculum is better at prepping the students for the standardized tests (USMLE). On the other hand, I’ve heard that they were less prepared for residency, but this is entirely anecdotal.

As for balancing pedagogical strategies, this seems to be the one of the most important functions of an educator. Failure to do so may mean failing to reach a fraction of students, and that is disastrous. One of the first pieces of advice I received when I began teaching was to make sure I always keep these differences in mind (some are visual learners and need to see it, some need to hear it, some need to read it, some talk it over themselves etc.). As a visual learner, I must admit that before this advice, all of my teaching was visually focused. I must have done a poor job teaching the non-visual learners… ?

Well said. Until you can connect your brain to a computer and download a PhD, there will never be a single curriculum format that can replace all the others. As with most things, moderation and variety seems to be the ideal. My only concern is that the current mood is so enthusiastically pro-active learning and so zealously anti-lecture, that we’ll miss that optimal balance. I do not agree with Robert Talbert’s claim that lectures are useless for knowledge transfer, if anything I’d guess most of my education was driven by such lectures.
That said, the Socratic method is extremely powerful, as are techniques that require the student to take on the roll of teaching others (e.g. Feynman Technique). Requiring the students to present on a certain topic does force them to learn the material better, as annoying as it is to them.

Thanks for the comment. The evaluation bit is the most challenging part of all. How can you ever truly quantify understanding? Perhaps even the most rigorous tests are just measuring test-taking. In my example, perhaps the PBL students are just as well prepared for a career in medicine, but the standard curriculum is better at prepping for the USMLE!?! On the other hand, rumor has it that the PBL students needed more oversight during residency, which could imply a weaker knowledge base, but this is anecdotal, and there is no way to quantify this. I suspect this problem has plagued the entire field of pedagogy for centuries, and won’t be solved any time soon.

Seconded on the statistics – though a good teacher can make it somewhat fun.

This is my first encounter with Gracious Space. I’m eager to learn more about it!

I must confess I’m among those who lament the loss of the physical books. But I share your delight over the exhibits and maker spaces that have moved into the library. The mapping science exhibit is amazing. I spend time with it after class on TTh — and even tweeted about it the other day.

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Thank you for this! While we’re raising concerns, I’ll note another one here, and that’s the ways that tech policies and practices in schools reinforce social divides: http://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/digital-redlining-privacy/

I love the idea of cross-disciplinary collaborations to get the most out of digital content, delivery, and learning. As with research, I think it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the many components required of comprehensive work. But we don’t exist in silos anymore, and we don’t have to be experts in everything (in fact we can’t be experts in everything) in order to conduct our research well, or in this case, in order to effectively teach students.

I identify with these ideas pretty personally, as an individual with a background in psychology/cognitive neuroscience currently carrying out research incorporating areas I have no educational training in (human factors, engineering, physiology, medicine, the list goes on). There is no way I can master all of these areas in order to collect the data and carry out the research I intend to, and it would be futile to attempt this on my own. It truly takes a team. I think the same goes for developing curriculum or interactive games. We can really only benefit from relying on each other’s strengths.

I think you’re right- obviously a huge focus of the majority of video games is on advancing to the next level, meeting some milestones, beating bosses, and the like. And I love your interpretation of learning through music, especially as a way to adventure on your own, without bounds, and for the sake of discovery. Being a musician allows for a certain cognitive flexibility and skill set that simply cannot be obtained through traditional academic environments, as you’ve mentioned! But I think that exists (sometimes) in the word of video games too.

I personally don’t play many video games, but my fiance sure does so I’ve learned a few things (but probably can’t be very specific). I do know there are many MMOs (massively multiplayer online games), for example, that allow for some of the opportunity for learning that you describe through music, including collaboration and teamwork, multi-sensory engagement, and free exploration without a specific end target. The skills developed in these games are core skills contributing to intellectualism writ large–critical thinking, problem solving, decision-making, teamwork, etc.

Anyway, I love this post! I just wanted to draw some additional parallels to video gaming that can sometimes be overlooked.