Pedagogy and Learning

First, just to clarify...

pedagogy, n. The art, occupation, or practice of teaching. Also: the theory or principles of education; a method of teaching based on such a theory. (From OED, 2005)

learning, vbl, n. 1. The action of the vb. LEARN. a. The action of receiving instruction or acquiring knowledge; spec. in Psychol., a process which leads to the modification of behaviour or the acquisition of new abilities or responses, and which is additional to natural development by growth or maturation; (freq. opp. insight).

So. There we are. The question is, how to we update learning? And is our desire to have the theory of how people learn getting in the way of how people actually learn? I watched one of my students stand in front of the classroom yesterday and ask if the rest of the class remembered 2nd grade, when they were excited about learning. She held up a textbook as an example of the irrelevancy of current education practices to their lives, and said, "Let's get back to 2nd grade." It was inspiring, to say the least.

And then I come across these two items in other blogs. It's a movement, people!

This from 2¢ Worth. "Our efforts should not be to integrate technology into the classroom, but to define and facilitate a new platform on which the classroom operates. When the platform is confined by classroom walls, and learning experiences spring from static textbooks and labored-over white boards, and the learning is highly prescribed, then pedagogy is required."

"Podcast: With Dean Shareski on _Natural_ Global Collaboration and Networked Learning." (Burell, C. Beyond School. 2/13/08)

"Is Pedagogy Getting in the Way of Learning?" (Warlick, D. 2¢ Worth. No idea of date.)