Learning isn't about receiving and absorbing information directly from other source(s), but about creativity, embellishment, exploration and connection in constructing knowledge. Presenting a new topic in a situated context that is authentic allows learners to be actively involved in constructing or making sense of the specific topic as it is applicable to the skills or knowledge that would be used in the specific area being introduced. So, imagination and creativity isn't about teaching those concepts, but allowing learners to think, create, and consider new possibilities.
Imaginative learning allows the ability for learners to construct their dreams and goals as well as develop empathy, critical awareness, self-confidence, self-regulation, and self-esteem. Goal(s) influence the learner's level of motivation to engage in goal-directed performance, which combined with targeted feedback are crucial to learning and building positive expectancies. Learning by creating/designing permits the ability for reflection, retrieval practices, reinforcement, and retention as well as retrieving knowledge and skills from experiences that are depicted from memory, which is considered an effective tool for learning and retention. Essentially, depth learning entails imagination and creativity in various learning strategies to impact and influence approaches to cognitive responses, social development, communication skills and potential opportunities that learners can transfer applied knowledge in novel environments.
I one-hundred-percent agree with what you said! I love that Dr. Nelson continues to bring up the fact that we are using a grading system designed for widgets and cogs during the industrial revolution. If we do not evolve with our technologies, we are doomed to fail ourselves as well as our future selves. I find it hilarious when professors say how easy we have it now when back in their day they went to the library and checked out books for their dissertation and we just 'google stuff' now. The technology for research has changed significantly, yet we are still assigning the same reflection papers on the scarlet letter.
ReplyDeleteI one-hundred-percent agree with what you said! I love that Dr. Nelson continues to bring up the fact that we are using a grading system designed for widgets and cogs during the industrial revolution. If we do not evolve with our technologies, we are doomed to fail ourselves as well as our future selves. I find it hilarious when professors say how easy we have it now when back in their day they went to the library and checked out books for their dissertation and we just 'google stuff' now. The technology for research has changed significantly, yet we are still assigning the same reflection papers on the scarlet letter.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. We definitely need to rethink of the role of teachers in todays world. I believe with the internet, students have access to a lot of information. A good educational system would help them use this information or tools and apply them in real life situations and this, like you mentioned, can only be done by imaginative learning.
ReplyDeleteI like how you started off your blog post with two questions that are of great importance to us as future faculty in higher education. I do think that creativity and imagination are undervalued in education; which is largely based upon whether students are able to pass a standardized test, rather than being able to generate their own construction of knowledge. As future educators, we have the unique opportunity to design coursework that reignites the creative and imaginative aspects of our students' minds. I think that the challenge is finding an institution that allows us to express this freedom in our course design, rather than making us follow the status quo.
ReplyDelete"Imaginative learning allows the ability for learners to construct their dreams and goals as well as develop empathy, critical awareness, self-confidence, self-regulation, and self-esteem."
ReplyDeleteYes!! I love this! As I said in my last post on summer camp, imagination can be a useful tool in learning especially when there are no grades to worry about.
I agree that creativity and imagination are crucial aspects of learning, but I would argue that learning is also about receiving and absorbing information from a credible source. Knowledge can't just be spontaneously conceived, but must be built upon in order for progress to be made. We must be careful to retain structure, and built in checks and balances when communicating information in a formal atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI agree that creativity and imagination are crucial aspects of learning, but I would argue that learning is also about receiving and absorbing information from a credible source. Knowledge can't just be spontaneously conceived, but must be built upon in order for progress to be made. We must be careful to retain structure, and built in checks and balances when communicating information in a formal atmosphere.
ReplyDelete