Ken Gordon at PEJE suggested on Twitter that those of us interested in "changing education paradigms" (thank you, Sir Ken Robinson) read The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices by Frank Moss, the former director of the MIT Media Lab, which is what RealSchool wants to be when it grows up.
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| The MIT Media Lab |
- Chapter 1 is about the creative freedom researchers have at the lab, which allows them to "invent according to their passions and curiosities, in an environment where the only real rule is that there are no rules, and where there is no such thing as failure."
- Chapter 2 describes the anti-disciplinary nature of the work that takes place in the lab, where people from many different disciplines can cross-pollinate with each other and arrive at innovative solutions to problems that have been addressed in more narrow ways.
- Chapter 3 is one of RealSchool's favorites, describing the hard fun researchers enjoy in the lab because they are encouraged to "express their most fanciful ideas by building them and then seeing what happens when people use them"
- Chapter 4 is about serendipity by design, or what happens as a result of the fact that the lab encourages "accidental" encounters among students and teachers that enrich and improve the projects the different teams are working on (xiii-xiv). This philosophy of design by chance is described well in Steven Johnson's book Where Good Ideas Come From. We showed the following clip narrated by Johnson at RealSchool's first meeting this year:
Now that you're acquainted with some of the Media Lab's values, here's RealSchool's mission, which was hashed out by the RealSchool members of 2011-12 and Mrs. Tikvah Wiener, RealSchool's founder and director. Of course, RealSchool is not only a group of clubs, as we describe it below; it's also as an educational philosophy that can be used to form an academic program as well. In fact, baby RealSchool is going to be a toddler next year, because it's going to be offered as an elective at The Frisch School in Paramus, NJ.
RealSchool's Mission Statement (see our website for more information about the program):
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?” -- Hillel, Ethics of the Fathers, 1:13
RealSchool is a group of clubs that are linked together by a matrix of shared beliefs about how one learns and the way learning benefits the self and others. One of the key values of RealSchool is that learning should be self-directed, that is, what one learns should be chosen by the individual. However, once a student has selected a RealSchool team in the area of interest s/he has, all learning takes place collaboratively. Learning at RealSchool is also primarily experiential rather than based on the knowledge of an expert, commonly referred to in the past as a teacher. In addition, RealSchool encourages -- no, demands -- divergent, creative thinking that enables students to apply their knowledge and skills to real life and the challenges of the real world.
The relationship that all RealSchool members are taught to create within the RealSchool community and with the broader world is a caring, symbiotic one. Students may join a particular RealSchool team because of a talent or interest they have, but they must learn about the talents that others possess and how to help others pursue their interests. Therefore, though the process of joining RealSchool begins with the self and an individual’s interests, it ends in a stronger community, as students are not only consumers, that is, recipients of help from RealSchool teams, but are also producers, that is, ones who give help to fellow teams and ultimately to the larger community.
Built into RealSchool’s DNA, then, is a focus on student empowerment: students choose what and how to learn. However, students also come to realize that by doing the very things they love, they can benefit not only their peers but the community and world at large.
Stay tuned for more sound bytes from Frank Moss' book!
Work Cited:
Moss, Frank. The Sorcerers and Their Apprentices. New York: Crown Business, 2011. Print. (Yes, people still read books!)
"Chapter 2 describes the anti-disciplinary nature of the work that takes place in the lab, where people from many different disciplines can cross-pollinate with each other and arrive at innovative solutions to problems that have been addressed in more narrow ways."
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be an inherent contradiction in this line. On the one hand, the current work being done is "anti-disciplinary", or at least interdisciplinary. But on the other hand, it is being done by people "from many different disciplines", which implies that specific disciplinary knowledge is a sine qua non for being able to work at this level.
The question then becomes, at what stage of learning is one ready to cross disciplines? I know that we often bemoan the fact that the departmentalization of schools sometimes causes kids to departmentalize the world and therefore one of our goals as educators should be to teach students how to bridge the disciplines. But on the other hand, expertise is often acquired via a laser-like focus on that discipline. MIT Media Lab is dealing with people who have already become experts in their fields - is high school or middle school too early to do the same?
I love the idea of "Hard Fun." I think as educators we forget about this too often. We are focused on moving through the content. The notion of "playful learning" and learning the way we did back in kindergarten creates an environment where creativity and invention can happen naturally. It removes the fear of failure and encourages the iterative prototyping model that Moss speaks about. The "atelier" method of masters and their apprentices works very nicely in a playful learning environment. In Moss's book, Professor Patti Maes explains: “Her students ‘are extremely curious, incredibly creative, and have tons of good ideas, but what they are missing is the good judgment that comes from practical experience in the real world.’” As "masters" in the art of learning, we as educators can help the students with the judgment and background knowledge in shaping the learning process. What structures and supports need to be in place to create a "hard fun" model in our Jewish Day Schools? And, how do we put some old-school educators' fears to rest that they can still move through their content and integrate "hard fun?"
ReplyDeleteSarah, you raise really good points about how inspiring the Media Lab ideas are to educators, including JDS ones, and the reservations educators may feel as they move toward project-based, student-directed learning. I HAVE sacrificed some of my syllabus for project-based learning but feel the exchange has been worth it, as the type of information and knowledge my students are getting is much richer and deeper than the kind gained from frontal, rote learning. I also see a big difference in the level of engagement my students have with the curriculum when they are in control of it; they are excited and "on," making connections with each other and the material that normally take so much longer to make. I'm looking forward to meeting up with you on EdJewCon to discuss your last two questions, because they deserve a long, Talmudic discussion!
DeleteTikvah, I really appreciate how thoughtful you are in how you approach teaching and learning. I completely agree that it is well worth the time investment for meaningful, project-based, real world learning. The students benefit so much more from this deep sort of deep learning experience, rather than being able to say they moved through their entire curriculum by a certain deadline. I am hoping that as more teachers participate in dialogues with you and other like-minded educators, we can create a grassroots shift in how learning happens! I too am looking forward to more conversations at EdJewCon, wrestling with how to bring "Hard Fun" and the spirit of the Media Lab to JDSs:)
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