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Teaching is listening, learning is talking. This wonderful rule of thumb, from the educator and writer, Deborah Meier, reminds us that real learning comes, in large part, from being actively involved in the educational moment. Experiential educators have long known this and frequently advocate for teaching that involves the learner and does not, as Paulo Freire famously described, treat students as empty “banks” in which to deposit information…
One of the most respected scientific journals, Science, recently (and without much media attention), published a study that, in its simplicity, is astounding in terms of its significance. “Why Peer Discussion Improves Student Performance on In-Class Concept Questions,” published in the January 2nd edition of Science (vol. 323) is one of those simple research studies that yields powerful results…
This study shows, very simply but very powerfully, that students learn more and they learn better through talking…
This simple study provides strong evidence to something experiential educators have long advocated. Students must be involved in their own learning. The educational process must be active and social, not passive and individual. Rather than “seat time” and time “on-task” as the dominant currency of classroom practice, it’s high time we start listening to our students (and letting them talk more to each other) to improve academic performance. Teaching is listening and learning is talking.
Scouting is a system of active, engaged, experiential learning. The real secret lies not in providing answers but asking questions in sparking the interest of Scouts to discover some things for and about themselves.
