Several philosophies of learning value being confused. John Dewey emphasizes uncertainty as a starting point. Jean Piaget wrote about disequilibrium as a powerful force. And conceptual change theory takes advantage of the confusion when considering competing ideas. Even the old-fashioned idea hierarchy of needs of Maslow could be used to justify creating discomfort in students: because we have needs we must fulfill, when safety, belonging or self-esteem are threatened, we work to regain those -- and along the way we might learn something important.
There is a real danger here. We can make our students unmanageably uncomfortable and lose their trust. On the other hand, what if your students learned from multiple experiences that they CAN persist (within your care) when they are faced with discomfort? How powerful they would feel when they are genuinely successful rather than being told how great they are. And the sense of accomplishment might not always be because they were 100% accurate in what they did -- but they made it and are more wise because of it. I'd put my student teaching experience as one example of this.
Since discomfort is a prerequisite for discovery, I wonder about using this to help an organization to learn. Suppose a teacher education program is talking about revising itself. How might those who are finishing that program provide insights -- especially by taking advantage of discomfort? Recognize that defensiveness is not the attitude we would want to encourage. Instead, how might information be gathered that would rattle people's assumptions.?For example, what about being prepared for diversity: could "data" be assembled that makes leaders uncomfortable as a precursor to changing the program's design? This takes learning beyond the classroom. But it might prevent the next generation from feeling cheated by what they didn't learn.
There is a real danger here. We can make our students unmanageably uncomfortable and lose their trust. On the other hand, what if your students learned from multiple experiences that they CAN persist (within your care) when they are faced with discomfort? How powerful they would feel when they are genuinely successful rather than being told how great they are. And the sense of accomplishment might not always be because they were 100% accurate in what they did -- but they made it and are more wise because of it. I'd put my student teaching experience as one example of this.
Since discomfort is a prerequisite for discovery, I wonder about using this to help an organization to learn. Suppose a teacher education program is talking about revising itself. How might those who are finishing that program provide insights -- especially by taking advantage of discomfort? Recognize that defensiveness is not the attitude we would want to encourage. Instead, how might information be gathered that would rattle people's assumptions.?For example, what about being prepared for diversity: could "data" be assembled that makes leaders uncomfortable as a precursor to changing the program's design? This takes learning beyond the classroom. But it might prevent the next generation from feeling cheated by what they didn't learn.
1 comment:
John- In my "Latinos and U.S. Education" course we talked about the need to step out of our comfort zones in order to learn more about people of different backgrounds. I think there has to be some level of discomfort in order for their to be change. The discomfort you feel in a new surrounding may motivate you to overcome that discomfort and feel at ease. Unfortunately the opposite may happen- you may feel so uncomfortable that you give up and go back to your comfort zone. I think it takes perseverance and a willingness to learn more and not be content with complacency. I think we can draw upon student's curiosity to learn more and help them realize that although they may be a little confused or feel discomfort at some point, they will eventually gain new understandings.
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