Ross Alexander

The NZ Curriculum vision calls for ‘young people … who will be confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners.’ Recently, I’ve been challenged in my own learning, and have reflected on how this vision relates to me as a ‘not-so-young’ life-long learner.

I’ve been riding motorbikes off and on for over 40 years. My current enthusiasm may be a desire to relive the glory days. Maybe just an expensive mid-life crisis!

For us ‘mature’ riders, there is a dark side to this return to youth. Although motorcycles make up only 5% of all vehicles, motorcylists account for 15% per cent of all fatalities, and 10% of all road users injured. And the over 40s are disproportionately represented.

It was my desire to keep myself intact and to continue enjoying my riding career that prompted me to enrol in a Ride Forever Gold full-day course run by Roadsafe.

As a younger person, I had considered that I was a competent rider — after all, I had survived several decades largely unscarred. But, attending this course challenged my assumptions and caused me to question my own competence. It was my response to this challenge that prompted me to think about my approach to learning in the context of that NZC vision.

A key aspect of the course was to identify the bad habits that had become ingrained in my riding, and to focus on, ‘Why’ new ways of approaching our riding were needed.

Some of the key skills being taught and practiced include:

Emergency braking from speed — working to reduce braking distances through focus and practice
Controlling the bike at slow speeds — including being able to do a controlled full-lock turn within a single lane
Choosing the optimum, safest line on unfamiliar roads — delaying the entry into a corner and hitting the apex only when the exit can be seen
Position your body, especially your head and eyes, to focus on where you need to be going on the road — not on the danger you are trying to avoid
Above all, it was about understanding that, if things go wrong, you need to trust your brakes, your suspension, and your tyres

Thinking about my responses to these challenges in light of the NZ Curriculum vision:

Confidence: As a young rider (and like many of my contemporaries) I had plenty of this! But, by challenging my abilities and assumptions, this false confidence of the youthful rider soon disappeared. Bad habits were exposed and new skills learned and practiced. The most powerful learning came from understanding why those bad habits were not keeping me safe. Without understanding the why — I had just been lucky to survive intact.
The other key confidence builder was, understanding the need to practice specific skills every time I got on board the bike, and reflect on my progress until the skills become ingrained and automatic.

Connected: Obviously, my first priority here is for me to stay connected with the bike!

With most of the course participants being fellow members of the Wellington Ulysses Club, there was a fair amount of well-intentioned ribbing going on. But, by watching, copying, and discussing other riders’ techniques, an environment of connected learning developed through the day. This collective, shared understanding of our learning continues as we meet up for weekend or longer rides.

Actively involved
It’s easy to be actively involved when you are passionate about a subject. For me, the passion comes from the thrill and freedom that motorcycling brings — the call of the open road, and the satisfaction of mastering a new set of riding skills.

Lifelong learner
For some of my contemporaries it is difficult for them to acknowledge that they have anything more to learn about riding a motorcycle. Surely, 40 years and still being here is testament to that? And for many, the older we get, the better we were! For some returning riders, an admission that they still have more to learn would be bruising to their aging egos.
I thought about my own attitude to learning as a young person at school. My learning was framed by chapters and bookended with exams. Learning was something that finished once I had mastery (or at least a Pass).

As educators and parents, I believe it is vital that we model what life-long learning looks like. Just like our motorcycle adventures — learning is a journey, not a destination!

Although I can no longer fit the NZC vision as a young person, there is no doubt that my new skills and understandings will help to keep the young person alive in my soul.

Long may we ride!

When I look back at my time as a primary school teacher in the 1990s, one of the most powerful learning experiences for me and my students was the use of LOGO – that little pixelated turtle tracing geometric shapes on a monochrome CRT screen. I was inspired by the impact that LOGO was having on my students as learners, as well as by the thinking that Seymour Papert used in the development of LOGO.

LOGO turtle

At its most basic, LOGO is an environment that enables students to programme an onscreen turtle to create geometric shapes. At its most sophisticated, it is a tool that enables students to explore, problem solve, experiment – and become immersed in an environment in which they take charge of the computer.

I recently re-read a book by Papert published in 1980: Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. Thirty four years on, I am interested in revisiting the themes that Papert discussed and reflecting on these in the context of 21st century teaching and learning.

Papert was strongly influenced by constructivist educational theory, particularly the work of Jean Piaget. Papert saw that the power of the computer was its universality and its power to simulate. It was his children’s thinking machine – a machine that enabled children to be builders of their own learning and thinking.

“In the LOGO environment … the child, even at preschool ages, is in control: The child programs the computer” (Papert, 1980, p. 19).

Papert claimed that in 1980 education was at a point in history when “radical change is possible, and the possibility for that change is directly tied to the impact of the computer” (Papert, 1980, pp. 36-37). This was a bold prediction given that the book was published at a time when the smell of methylated spirits from the Banda machine filled staff rooms, the Apple II+ was released, and the first microcomputer hard drive (5MB!) was released by Seagate. The IBM PC and the Internet were yet to reach us.

Papert’s vision was of a new kind of learning environment, one that “demands free contact between children and computers” (Papert, 1980, p. 60) and where children can learn to use computers masterfully – becoming the programmers and creators in new and unimaginable ways. He also argued that computers may affect the way people think and learn. They could become tools to facilitate thinking about thinking.

However, Papert argued that for this radical change to occur, society’s view of the role of ‘school’ would need to change, and that this change would need to be revolutionary rather than reformist.

Looking back at the thirty-four years that have passed since Mindstorms was published, it is interesting to ask how Papert’s predictions have (or haven’t) come to pass, and how his philosophy of learning impacts our use of digital technologies in 2014.

Firstly, how visible is the impact of the microprocessor on education. As Papert predicted, the microprocessor (in all its forms) has had a huge impact on almost every aspect our 21st century lives. In medicine, commerce, and in our social connections it has created dramatic changes. However, can we see the impact of the digital revolution in our schools? Has the technology radically changed the way teaching and learning happens?

In his subsequent book, The children's machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer (1993), Papert appears disconcerted by the lack of impact that technology was having in classrooms. I believe that in 2014, he would still argue that in many classrooms teaching and learning looks strangely similar to that seen in 1980 and that technology is having only a limited impact.

Secondly, are we now at a time when society will permit the radical change required of schools to ensure that they are able to maximise the potential of the tools we now have available?

Thirdly, are the technologies that we are putting in front of our students providing environments that enable them to become more than consumers of content? Are we providing technology that supports students to be creators of their own knowledge and to become active, self-directed learners?

In summary, in this world of eye-catching multimedia, are we able to learn something from that old black and white turtle?

“I predict that long before the end of the century, people will buy childrens’ toys with as much computer power as the great IBM computers currently selling for millions of dollars” (Papert, 1980, p. 24)

References

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York, USA: Basic Books, Inc.

Papert, S. (1993). The children's machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computer. New York, USA: Basic Books, Inc.

CORE Blog

CORE Blog

Reflections of a Life-long Learner

The LOGO turtle and Seymour Papert’s Mindstorms – thirty four years on

References