When I sat down to write this final blog I asked myself two questions:-
1) What do I think of this module?
I swapped to this module at the last minute, partly because I’d spoken to last years students and heard only good things about it, and to be totally honest, partly because there was no final exam – yes I am embarrassed to admit I was that shallow!! However, I’m so glad I made that decision as it has turned out to be one of the most, if not THE most enjoyable module in my entire university career. This module was how I imagined university to be before I came here, with lots of collaboration, an enthusiastic and invested lecturer, and an opportunity to learn in depth about something which I found facinating. It was a little daunting to begin with as its so far removed from so many other modules, and the absence of strict rules and guidelines meant that I was (at first), left wondering exactly what I was meant to do and which direction to go – however looking back I can see that what was absent was prescribed learning…Jesse just wanted us to go and find what WE wanted to learn about within the parameter of the psychology of learning and education … No wonder we all enjoyed this so much…we were learning what we wanted to learn!!
2) What did I learn?
Wow! Where to begin?
Firstly I have learned that I learn and retain far more information when it is a subject that I’m interested in – I actually feel that if I was examined on what I had written in my past 8 blogs I could pass with a good grade without even revising. Following on from that, after the stats/blogs debacle last year, I really didn’t see the value of blogging – I am surprised to say that I now think that blogging is an effective, valid, enjoyable, and stress-free assessment method… when it is used correctly.
I’ve also learned the value of doing presentations – I found that presenting really cemented my knowledge. I worked harder and made sure I truly understood what I was speaking about, as I wanted to be able to confidently answer any questions.
Concerning the subject matter of my blogs and that of everyones blogs I’ve read, it has really saddened me, as it seems as though our education system is failing…failing to deliver the maximum knowledge and skills to learners, and failing to adapt, accomodate, and proactively embrace 21st century technology and empirically supported knowledge about how we learn and the best ways to teach, ….. in short, the psychology of learning is being ignored.
One thing which I have noticed over the past weeks of reading everyone’s blogs, is that despite the wide and diverse subjects we all started with, as the weeks have progressed, the focus of all of our blogs seems to have ‘funneled’ into a handful of common themes eg. Assessment methods, delivery of education, and conformity. Has anyone else noticed this? It got me thinking about what a qualitative study of this would show – would an analysis of factor loading decrease from blog 3 to blog 8? Again on the subject of my blogs – constructivism- I’ve seen that it is not only effective in an academic setting, but, through proof-reading my blogs, my husband who is a helicopter crewman instructor, has applied many techniques to his ground and air instruction. He’s found that it has really highlighted the students who want to learn and do the job, and those who thought they could turn up, not work, memorise information, and pass (they have since found that they can’t!!). He’s found that constructively learned information allows for a deeper understanding, and an ability to apply that knowledge to different, seemingly unconnected situations.
What’s more, I’m such a good wife that I’ve decided not to charge him a consultation fee!!!
Where now?
This module has reignited my enthusiasm for learning. I hadn’t considered doing an academic masters degree (favouring more of a vocational masters in counselling psychology), however now, I’d love to study educational interventions – if children are struggling to learn, is the problem theirs or the way they’re being taught? Could a small change in delivery have a big impact on learning?Also, I’m now considering teaching as a profession – something I’d never done before. How can we expect things to change if we don’t get in there and do it ourselves?
To conclude, I cannot possibly list everything I’ve leaned from this module – it has gone way beyond learning about the science of education… I’ve learned how to learn instead of memorise, and I cannot thank Jesse enough for the opportunity to be a part of this revolutionary ‘new’ university education.
Schooling Is Not Always Education 