Good Morning my busy friends!
I'm thrilled that you have stopped by to read the conversation I had with Brenda McGill. We visited in the middle of the week and both of us had a busy day. It took less that five minutes of small talk and we were both refreshed and engaged. It was a delightful way to end a Wednesday.
Brenda and I welcome your comments and questions. You can leave them for us below and if you wish to receive a notification when a new blog post goes live, please register your email in the lower right corner below. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and stopping by.
Blu:
Brenda, I was so excited when I received your email confirming that you would love to do this blog with me. I can’t thank you enough.
Brenda:
I’m excited too! Thank you so much for this opportunity to share my ideas and opinions with you and your audience. I’m honored that you asked me.
Blu:
Last week when I let everyone know that the new “Method to the Madness” series would continue with the topic “The Art of Learning”, I mentioned that I asked you a question straight away when we first spoke. I would like to start our conversation with that question if you don’t mind.
Brenda:
Absolutely, let’s start there.
Blu:
If someone said to you, “Learning is an Art! What thoughts would it bring to mind?
Brenda:
The term art implies to me that there is minimal S.O.P ( standard operating procedure) to its expression. I see lots of similarities with learning. For example, learning is full of individual expression, personal experiences and ways of understanding, so is art. Art should not be forced and neither should learning. Art can occur with instruction on the basics, so can learning. Sometimes art just bubbles up on its’ own and learning can come naturally too. At its best, learning is the art of seeing our internal gifts that we can share with the world.
Blu:
That’s what really excited me about this topic because if we view learning as an art form than it would be accepted that everyone’s approach would be different. I know you are always taking courses on something or other so I’m posing this question to you as both a learner and a teacher, are there different approaches to learning?
Brenda:
Oh yes. There are modes, methods, models, and theories. So, I’ll just list the basics.
There were four standard styles: auditory, visual (spatial/observation), kinesthetic/tactile and reading/writing. Today, education has expanded learning styles to include: logical (mathematical), social (interpersonal), and solitary (intrapersonal). Another important area is the theory of “multiple intelligence”.
Blu:
Wow! Four and something called multiple intelligence! I may have more questions on that Brenda, but for now let's get back to where we were. Did you find it hard to discover how you learned?
Brenda:
To be truthful, I was a bit of a ‘nerd’. I loved reading and writing short stories. But my learning style is very visual. I didn’t realize that until college, when the first two methods proved not to be enough. There was nothing better than making that leap to understand how to make the grade I needed.
Blu:
Well, personally, I found it hard to discover, in fact, I don’t think I realized that there were different ways to learn. I was always struggling to figure out why I did well in this subject and tanked in another which brings me to Covid19 and how it has brought our attention to education like never before, don’t you agree?
Brenda:
Very true!
Blu:
The impact of Covid19 on education was felt by a large group of people of all ages; children, teens, young adults, parents, and teachers, as we begin to move out of the pandemic, do you think we can find any positives in this?
Brenda:
Although, we can’t ignore the difficulties experienced by many students and families due to covid19, somehow, in our challenge to survive from such tragic experiences, humanity always finds pockets of positivity.
Blu:
Parent’s lives were completely disrupted in many aspects. What positives can a parent take from this?
Brenda:
I believe many parents were thrust from a previously limited exposure and involvement with school curriculum, teaching methods and classroom strategy to being knee deep in it. I would hope that as schools return to in-class instruction, that the newly created methods of parental access to student work and increased communication with teachers becomes a secure foundation to continue to support student success.
Blu:
So is the positive that knowledge is power, and parents may now have an insight on their child’s educational journey?
Brenda:
Yes, being able to see what class work is completed each day and having email/text access between parents and teachers can give them the power to help a student earlier who is having difficulty.
Blu:
Teachers were unexpectedly thrust into a completely different work environment. What positives can they find?
Brenda:
I would hope that teachers would continue to use the tools of technology to support student learning. It would be great for homework, group work in and out of class allowing teachers time to work with students who need extra instruction as well as being able to provide more challenging work where appropriate. I believe teachers should receive some form of certification, given the amount of time and effort that was required to put this instructional technology in place.
Blu:
That is a positive for teachers; they now have the technology tools and know how to help them reach more students. Do you think that they will be given new opportunities to continue to teach in this way?
Brenda:
Teachers have a degree of freedom in their selection of teaching methods and materials. I certainly hope they are allowed to use the beneficial parts that technology brings.
Blu:
Brenda this pandemic affected every demographic of the student body in a different and sometimes individual way. What positive can a student take away?
Brenda:
I believe the best outcome is that every student now has access to a tablet or laptop. That is a huge leveling of access to information via technology. Also, more communities now have improved access to the internet. As a nation, we were a long way from giving every student access to technology.
Blu:
I agree, closing the technology gap was slow moving and now with access to devices and information, the opportunity to learn is more attainable.
Brenda:
Yes, there are clearly new opportunities to do better for everyone.
Blu:
Wow, I have to admit, I saw all the negatives but I didn’t stop to think about the positives that we had and these can really teach us, if we change our focus. Do you feel that Covid19 has helped propel education forward faster than the track it was originally on?
Brenda:
It definitely propelled a reduction of the inequity gap for the moment. The challenge will be to see if the technology continues to be used to enhance student success by connecting practical and intellectual skills through project-based instruction.
Blu:
Brenda this has been awesome. I’m looking forward to chatting with you again. Thank you for spending this time with me and for discussing this topic because I know it is always frightening to discuss something that is controversial and Covid and Education is a very hot topic at the moment. I'll give you a ring next week.
Brenda:
Sounds Good!
Covid19 effected everyone's life and it's impact may well be felt for some time to come. But, Brenda is on to something. There are positives! So while it is necessary to deal with and overcome the negatives left behind, it is also important to look at those positives because it gives us the opportunity to grow and evolve. Perhaps Covid19 was a Detour on the Educational Highway and maybe that highway has been neglected and needs some repair and improvement. Maybe Covid brought that to light and now we have a chance to fill the pot holes, add a lane or two, repave and open some new access roads. Education is a journey and learning is an Art but the way we get there and how we do it, is different for everyone. Hope you all enjoyed this chat and I hope you join me for the next one.
Blu