What percent of what we learn in our adult lives is learned via a curriculum that someone else explicitly put together for us vs. a path of content and people and whatever else that we create on demand for ourselves in the moment? Especially now with the Internet?
In my life right now, I’d say it’s 90%-10% in favor of the self-created path. I’m guessing most people reading this are nodding their heads.
Now ask that same question of kids in school. In my own kid’s case, he says it’s almost the exact opposite.
It’s not hard to see that our focus in schools isn’t on learning as much as it’s on making sure kids become learned about the “best-guess” curriculum we put in front of them. Similarly, it’s hard to argue that that approach is getting them ready for the 90%-10% world of self-determined learning that we all know they’re going to live in.
Here’s truth: We now have access to more uniquely relevant and interesting resources for any given child to learn from and with than any organizationally selected curriculum could possibly offer.
Which is why the school curriculum should now be an act of creation instead of a highly scripted package of content for completion.
To quote Dave Cormier:
I’m starting to believe, more and more, that given THE INTERNETS, content should be something that gets created BY a course not BEFORE it. Our current connectivity allows us to actually engage in discussions at scale… can that replace content?
Interesting question…
(Image credit: Evelyn Giggles)
Curious how you think your 90%-10% self-created path fits with Anders Ericcson’s work on peak performance and deliberate practice? I’d put myself in your general percentages, but Ericsson’s work has me wondering …