How Students Learn

In this first "Scott Talk" podcast I talk about the gap between our current education system and how our students learn in the 21st Century. As "digital natives," this generation of multi-taskers are as estranged fromt he "textbook" as many of us are to technology as "digital immigrants." They are far more savvy than their teachers, but they their savviness doesn't always translate into learning. They have the skills, but they need coaching in how to use their tech talents to construct knowledge, assimilate information, and put all the pieces together in a cohesive form. They struggle with taking in the "big picture" and seeing all of the pieces of puzzle an how they come together.

Students today think at "twitch-speed," a skill that is wrought in the "Halo" world - where thinking fast and maneuvering quick is what takes them to the next level in the game. As an ADD adult- I totally get the attention span challege. Like the students, static environments are TORTURE. I get tempted give myself a root-canal in the middle of class (metaphorically speaking, of course!) when I feel stuck in the hell of "NO STIMULATION!" I want to ju out of my seat and scream - just to entertain myself. School the way most kids know it today in an excercise in futility. They approach it as a "get me done." Give me the answer so that I jump through the hoop and get out of here!

The mantra of students today, as Mark Presnky says, is "engage me or enrage me!"

Here's the podcast