Research Paper

Nickolas Gold-Leighton

Jessica Pisano  

LANG: 120 

March 19, 2014

What does it mean to really learn?

In this day in age everyone is expected by society to perform throughout school thus leading to a successful life.  While a majority of our national population maintains this status quo we still find a percentage of Americans who have yet to find any progress producing their own form of success. Many could protest that these Americans are lazy or do not carry the common sense to maintain normality within their own lives. However a majority of these cases can be traced back to an individuals inability to preform in an educational setting. When students present a learning disability or even a lack there of to desire to learn we separate and disassociate with the problem and deem their learning condition fixable by way of medication and/or discipline. Current culture expects that every individual is entitled to the freedom of choice. Which promotes the question “should every student then deserve the access to an educational environment that not only teaches those who will naturally excel, but will foster the student who’s potential is present just worth an alternative form of explantation?”. Throughout the past decade more forms of alternative educational systems have begun to arise across the country. Whether using hands-on or visual forms of teaching, Montessori schools or Charter schools all provide legitimate avenues for a students mind to traverse over traditional “forced school systems” (Gray, ch. 3).    

Alternative forms of education give each student undeniable possibilities to learn in a variety of settings. Not only are alternative forms of teaching more effective with higher rates of mental course retention but the educators in each environment burnout much less often. Students consistently feel appropriately challenged when given assignments. Our educational system can be improved with the quality of teaching provided. Alternative education establishes the frame work for every student to achieve personal success. Hands-on education is among the many pillars that make up alternative education. The educational model of “Busy Hands, Busy Brains” (Cleaver) is the culmination of hands-on education actually proving itself to be a viable form of material retention. Hands-on education is a form of teaching that appeals most to visual learners. This hands-on approach to teaching younger children has been seen to be accessible with student that have ADD/ADHD learning disabilities, Aspergers syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and nonverbal learning disorder (Cleaver). The reason this style of teaching works is because when you combine multiple tasks that require movement, talking, and/or listening it activates a series of areas in the brain. "The more parts of your brain you use, the more likely you are to retain information (Cleaver). For young students being hyperactive is common and with their ample energy devoting their attention solely on just listening can prove to lose much of their focus in the long run. Allowing students to multitask gives each individual the ability to channel their energy for more complicated tasks. This ability to multitask and retain higher rates of information is not only a phenomenon found with younger students. In fact the journal of Applied Cognitive Psychology reported that volunteers who doodled during a dull verbal message were 29 percent better at recalling details from the message (Cleaver). With results that prove even grown adults can improve retention rates in business like settings then why is there not more of a demand put on schools and teachers to implement mnemonic tricks for students when teaching subjects that are conceptually dense? Visual, auditory, and kinetic learners are most advantageous when being taught by hands-on methods. Furthermore, the idea of hands-on education is not primarily based on the idea of using tangible items. Educators that embrace this style of teaching will commonly allow students to explore their natural interests and where there is a definite lack of ability projects can be centered around building upon comprehension of areas of disinterest. Visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, and social learners individually approach challenges differently. Then why should we teach every child the same way? If teaching is considered an art why do we approach education from a formulaic standpoint?  When social learners are exposed to hands on-education most of their time is spent in small group conversation. This verbal communication strengthens their understood knowledge of the concept and allows the “student to become the teacher”(Cleaver). “When students explain and demonstrate skills to each other," says Sheldon Horowitz, EdD, director of professional services for the National Center for Learning Disabilities, "they are validating their understanding of the material being learned and, often in ways that adults are less successful, helping their peers to build and master new skills”(Cleaver). The ability to not only multitask on an individual level but to preform social interactions within a group environment is a major focal point that helps to define alternative education. Whether taught directly to an individual or among a group of students hands-on education has the potential to be implemented with success and consistency.

Similar to hands-on education is the emerging field of visual learning. A style of teaching that is incorporated along with standard methods, however visual learning is capable of explaining difficult concepts in more approachable ways. Within the world of education the technical term is referred to as Cognitive Aspects of Creativity. Over the last ten years the video game industry has exploded in terms of capabilities of not only target audiences but how immersive environments can become. The video game industry reaches over twenty billion dollars and in recent years teachers are excepting the benefits of the industry (Snyder, ch.4). Even though certain companies have been producing educational games for several years like that of Brain Age or Luminosity, it has been unfavorable to implement because “gaming has conventionally been viewed as a mindless activity engaged in by young men and women during their free time” (Snyder, ch.4). With students now being exposed to a plethora of social media, advertising, and entertainment it would seem wise to use video games for constructive purposes and not for “mindless activity". This recent addition to the educational system has roots in much higher areas of discipline. The United States military, Government agencies, commercial airline pilots, and even drivers ed courses all use the same brand of technology. This alternate form of teaching is a virtual representation of what will exist within environments, which allows the “student” (of any age) to learn how to operate a tank, a sedan, Boeing seven forty seven, or even a space shuttle docking on the international space station. 

Learning does not restrict any age person, but learning will enhance how any person can connect with the world around them. Visual learning of this magnitude can help young students explore the foundation of the cell or even teach medical students how to operate more efficiently on the body. Students who have had access to games or “video-games” that challenge their minds while coupling the same information from there courses have a greater capability of retention and participation (Snyder, ch.4). Within the past nine years the National Science Foundation ITEST (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) has incited funding for a program that aims to combine the efforts of educators and students to design and create immersive educational games that follow content standards. The acronym for this program is the HI FIVES (Highly Interactive Fun Virtual Environments in Science) this program proved in 2005 that pilot simulator projects are possible conceptual ideas that students and teachers can obtain together (Snyder, ch.4). 

Within the alternative education there are school systems designed to challenge the student in a more constructive atmosphere. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician developed a frame work for how children should be taught within the class room. Her main focus was to have classes that encompassed children from three to eight years of age. She wanted the students to feel a sense of independent choice when choosing what form of activity they would take part in. Maria Montessori also wanted the students to be able to use their hands or some form of tangible “discovery" model when learning a new concept (George, ch 2). As Maria Montessori focused on our own human tendencies she felt that restricting an individuals movement when trying to learn would result in a less efficient manner of retention and interest. “Children are designed, by nature, to play and explore on their own, independently of adults. They need freedom in order to develop; without it they suffer” (Gray, ch. 1). Montessori’s findings during the 1900’s placed importance on the human tendencies of abstraction, activity, communication, exactness, exploration, manipulation, and self-perfection. Ironically this is not uncommon, most of the educational restructuring that has initiated within the United States over the last twenty years has based itself on the ideals and goals of Maria Montessori. Working independently would be our form of self discovery and her term of “exploration” would be similar to that of a hands-on assignment. Maria’s work studying the interactions and developmental processes of children and teachers was profound. Her work has made headway into how our current culture desires education to evolve. Nationally there are many Montessori schools that follow this simple practice and are able to carry testimonials from past students validating the comprehensive and  “self-perfectionist” mentality of learning (George, ch 2). 

Charter schools are a recent addition to the world of alternative education. Since the 1990’s charter schools have begun to establish themselves in rural settings. The state of Oregon is a very pro alternative education state and has legislation to promote the addition of new schools. However only 1.3% of Oregon’s student population actually belongs to a charter school (Nagata). This amounts to 1,031 students enrolled. Charter schools are typically a mix of traditional and alternative public education. Charter schools offer parents, students, and teachers “public school alternatives based on the idea that competition will bring educational innovations” (Collins). There is potential for controversy with Charter schools because they possess the power by law to establish their own form of regulations on curriculum. “Charter schools offer autonomy in exchange for accountability” (Collins). The schools are free to implement hands-on education and new media departments as long as they produce test scores that prove their curriculum has provided the necessary state requirements. The rate at which Charter schools are being established has increased since the 1990’s and because of the lack of regulation for an allotment  of time there is room to mix traditional teaching styles with the heavily integrated arts and alternative educational practices.   

              Alternative education is not a substitute for traditional schooling. It is a altercation of how teachers and students learn together. Hands-on and visual learning help to connect concepts for visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and students with learning disabilities. Charter schools and Montessori schools both help to incorporate alternative education into main stream practice. While Montessori schools focus on a structured and yet flexible core they are the heart of alternative education with Charter school playing the bridge between traditional and alternative practices. Alternative education does not produce a superior student they facilitate the student to become a self driven individual capable of finding success in what they pursue.    

Works Cited 

Cleaver, Samantha. “Hands-On Is Minds-On.” Scholastic 2014. Scholastic Online. Web. 18 March. 2014

Collins, Timothy. Charter Schools: An Approach for Rural Education?. Charleston: Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, 1999. PDF file.     

George, Anne E. Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in "The Children's Houses". Washington, D.C.: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1912. PDF file.  

Gray, Peter. Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life. New York: Basic Books, 2013. PDF file.

Nagata, Yoshiyuki. Alternative Education: Global Perspectives Relevant to the Asia- Pacific Region. Vol. 10. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2007. PDF file. 

Snyder, Heather T. Cognitive Aspects of Creativity: Science Learning Through Serious Educational Games. Teaching Creatively and Teaching Creativity. New York: Springer, 2013. 53-62. PDF file.