Translator: Tanya Cushman Reviewer: Peter van de Ven
What makes a good teacher?
I mean, think about it.
What makes a good teacher?
Is it classroom management
or
test scores?
Definitely test scores.
(Laughter)
Or is it years experience?
But what makes a good teacher to you?
I'd like to invite you to take a minute, close your eyes and think back.
Think back to the educator
whose fingerprint upon your life can be seen right now on this very day.
Think back.
Are you there?
Can you hear their voice?
What do you remember?
Open your eyes.
See, for me,
it would be Mr. Glasnapp, hands down.
I would have him my freshman year of high school for biology,
and then again, my sophomore year for chemistry
and finally, my senior year of high school for IB environmental science,
where, by the end of the class,
not only did I think I could save the planet
but I could also purify water around the world
while treading through the upward rivers and lakes of Wisconsin
because Mr. Glasnapp had taught me how.
What I didn't realize at the time
was he was using strategies that were based in experiential learning.
See, experiential learning allows for the individual
to have both hands-on, collaborative and reflective thinking processes
so that when they're all coupled together,
it winds up allowing the student to fully learn new skills and knowledge,
typically in four different modes.
it's learning through action, by doing,
through direct experience or even discovery and action.
So from the years of 2011 to 2015,
I worked in the education department of the Milwaukee Art Museum,
and while there, part of my role would include guiding individuals
through tours of specific exhibitions,
exhibitions such as 30 Americans from the Rubell Family Collection,
where art objects
such as Gary Simmons' "Duck, Duck, Noose" would be displayed in a corner:
small, childlike stools form a circle,
individually capped with white hoods,
a noose suspended from the middle of the room,
an invitation to a familiar childhood game that not one of us would want to accept.
See, learning through action
encourages and directs the learner towards a response.
In this case, observers were invited
to write their thoughts down and their impressions on a Post-it Note,
comments that would fill a room -
three of the four walls in that particular hall.
Comments that would range from
"I remember my grandparents talking about this,
things like this happening in the South,"
or "Why is this still happening?
Black lives matter,"
or "How is this even in a museum?
Why would you consider this art?"
See, the best thing about learning through action
is it can take place and be in response for the youngest of viewer,
and while, yes, content is important,
learning through process is at the heart of experiential learning,
and it can also take place in groups.
So when you take a group of little ones out into the park,
and you can encourage them
through the content of creating their own stories about their Milwaukee
as individuals demonstrate for them
and instructors model model prints of singular colors,
where each child can self-reflect
only to have their own vision and memory of Milwaukee
be placed in a book on display in the museum,
differences start to happen.
And designs of a learning experience
can include the possibility of learning from natural consequences,
mistakes and successes.
And while participants who are in a room have the opportunity to respond,
being driven towards action,
their body movements and modern dance
can mimic the swirls and circles and strokes of Kandisky's mural.
And best of all, this works for students of all ages.
They're allowed the freedom to make strides in their learning process.
And as you self-evaluate -
in this particular case, teachers creating themselves into a tableau,
a mirror image of Thomas Sully's portraits -
they start to self-evaluate their own progression
in the learning process,
which becomes the primary means of assessment.
So now the teacher can move from the sage on the stage -
a teacher-centric classroom -
to the guide on the side.
Learning experiences can be developed
that are both positive and nondominating for the learner.
So Dr. Makola Abdullah -
he's the president of Virginia State University -
he talks about the artificial line between STEM and the arts,
a line that at schools like Milwaukee Environmental Sciences Academy
is being eradicated,
where sixth-grade student create miniature boxcars from recyclables.
Individually, they lead their own independent action.
Using constructivist thought,
they start to build their approach
and connect to the familiar of simple machines.
And then, eighth graders,
as opposed to just reading about transportation,
they actually create a boat -
well, a skiff to be precise.
So in partnership with All Hands Boatworks,
these students use power tools - with guidance -
and through the process,
they not only learn physics
but math, social skills, technical skills,
engineering and art
as they finalize their designs.
And you best believe, if you ask a third grader,
"What all should be included in the ideal playground?"
not only will they write you a brief essay,
but they're going to give you prototypes to show you what needs to be done.
(Laughter)
So art or art objects can be aligned as the entry point for all participants
regardless of background and instructional level.
So even little first graders learning parts of a bee
can show you best through a sculpture.
So experiential learning, we know, takes place in museums,
it takes place in classrooms,
but it sometimes can take place in communities,
where organizations like Artists Working in Education
and artists like Johnny Kowalczyk
join together.
Starting with a simple idea,
they begin to craft a draft of what a mural could look like,
with that idea becomes a plan, a collection of sketches,
and through the process, leading to a product.
The idea from Dr. Dina and Marcela Garcia, sisters here in the Latino community
that are committed to educating the individuals around them
about diabetes and high-blood pressure
and how other ailments can simply be avoided
with proper oral and dental health.
So through experiential learning,
the instructor guides rather than directs their learning process.
And it guides the students
to where they're already naturally curious and interested in learning.
So according to the National Experiential Learning Organization -
and, yes, there is such a thing -
well, according to them,
when this particular teaching strategy is employed,
relationships are developed and nurtured -
student to self,
student to others,
student to world -
because of the teaching process.
So what have I learned by employing this process in my own practice?
Well, first and foremost,
that programs that employ this as a combination of learning strategies
tend to be most successful.
And along that same line,
learning can happen without a precursor
or any sort of guided experience ahead of time,
and above all else, it's fun.
So remember when we first met each other and I asked you to think back
to a teacher whose fingerprint could be seen upon your life today?
I would almost imagine that you did not picture yourself
in rows, a boring lecture or working in isolation.
I would guarantee that it was probably a time
where you had a combination of learning strategies.
You probably were working in groups or with someone else, hands-on,
and had a chance to shine.
What would our schools and universities look like
if this was our daily practice?
Thank you.
(Applause)