GEVER TULLEY-TINKERING SCHOOL

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html

After watching the link above I began thinking about my personal experience with school and learning strategies or types that help me learn or expand my ideas. I came to the conclusion that I have no idea how I learn best or what learning types help me get the most out of my education. The high school that I attended did not focus on helping students with their own personal needs or helping to expand their ideas. Going to class, looking at a power point, taking notes, watching the same informational videos become a routine for every single class period, day after day. Although I rarely had group assignments, from the group work I have experienced before I do believe I work better by myself. However, if I was given the opportunity to grow and expand my knowledge by communicating and working with others than I would do it. Besides gym class, I did not have one single class that had any hands on work. Yes, I could have taken woods or mechanic based classes but that is not the only circumstance where hands on material should be used. By providing materials and giving assignments where the students may make or do whatever they wish with the project, it gives them room to grow and plan out projects that they have interest in. Through trial and error kids can find ways that work best for them on their hands on projects and can expand their thought processes further for future assignments. Although not every person learns by hands on activities it may show them that they are in fact more of a visual or listening type of learner. It could, however show them that the physical project making is their way of learning best and could definitely benefit them on their study techniques or learning practices in the future.
      Change is more often than not a positive experience. Schools should focus less on what classes to cut or how much more they should charge a family to keep budgets manageable and change to focus a little more on how staff members could teach more efficiently and in different ways to help students learn their best. Some may strive and some may fail miserably but in the end they know how that learning process helped them in a positive or a negative way. Personally, I would enjoy attending a school or a class that had a “hands on” based curriculum. Although I may not enjoy every aspect of the experience I would have broadened my horizons on how I can improve my personal learning style.
     If only life were simple, we would know everything there is to know if we were ever going to use it in our lives after we learn it. I have come to ask myself the same question of “When will I ever use this information again?” In all honesty I think a good chunk of things I have learned in my education I will not ever bring up in my life again. I need to try it and see it to believe it and use it to know it. My learning experiences outside of my schooling are just as important as those inside of a classroom. I do not learn from just one technique, there are several factors of each learning process that I can benefit from. I guess that until I reach that point where I have experienced multiple learning techniques I will never know my full potential for learning information or studying efficiently. I may succeed or I may fail but at least I’m doing something that will teach me whether to continue my schooling how I am or how to change myself to learn more efficiently. In the end, all I really have to say is that change is good. Being different and trying things out is a great way to learn and that I wish a lot more people were open minded to new things or techniques. Society may reject the unfamiliar and respond poorly to failure, but at least someone is trying to do something different and make a change. I thought that Gever Tulley’s video showed the potential for some peoples learning capabilities and brought the idea of “you never know until you try” back out on the table for everyone to think about or experience.