Deep Learning

Engage the World Change the World

Michael Fullan, Joanne Quinn, Joanne J. McEachen

• Editorial: Corwin
• Año: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781506368566
• Edición: 1
• Categoría: Education
• Categoría: Leadership in Education

Engage the World Change the World Deep Learning has claimed the attention of educators and policymakers around the world. This book not only defines what deep learning is, but takes up the question of how to mobilize complex, whole-system change and transform learning for all students. Deep Learning is a global partnership that works to: transform the role of teachers to that of activators who design experiences that build global competencies using real-life problem solving; and supports schools, districts, and systems to shift practice and how to measure learning in authentic ways. This comprehensive strategy incorporates practical tools and processes to engage students, educators, and families in new partnerships and drive deep learning.

Chapter 1 The Need for and Attraction of Deep Learning

Relevance Unfound

Big change is always a function of push and pull with the latter being the more powerful of the two forces. Perhaps the greatest internal push factor in traditional schooling is that it is not engaging to say the least. Lee Jenkins (2013) is one of many researchers who has examined the percentage of students who are engaged in their classrooms from kindergarten to Grade 12. He, like others, found that in kindergarten and the early grades about 95% of students are engaged followed by an ever-increasing decline to about 39% by the time students reach Grade 11. Other studies, whether from the perspective of the student or teacher, report similar declines. It has also been found that many of those who are participating are often in it for the grades, not out of interest. Gallup Poll (2016) reported that at least a third of students are “actively disengaged” and that students in Grade 11, for example, are substantially less connected to learning than Grade 5 students. All this is not so much a criticism as it is a confirmation that schooling as it was set up 150 years ago is no longer suited for the present times.

Another push factor making schooling seem less relevant is that the future job market is not only unpredictable but also in decline as the rise of robots takes its toll on the number of jobs that will be available. Compared to many of us who went through school to ensure a good future—not itself an intrinsic motivator, but it would do—the current generation has a hard time imagining the pathway to a desirable future. All this is further reinforced for students from poverty or minorities who feel a growing sense of hopelessness, because they find little sense of belonging in an institution that seems both irrelevant and uncaring.

We can draw a blunt conclusion. There is no reason for the majority of students to take conventional schooling seriously. There are many roadside attractions and other diversions that provide an alternative draw for students: drugs, the digital world, doing nothing. The easiest pathways are the ones of least resistance and instant relief, if not gratification. One of our favorite change concepts is freedom from versus freedom to (Fullan, 2015). Humans work hard to get away from something that is oppressive whether it be constraints or boredom. But they are less good at deciding what to do with any newfound freedom. In fact, the evidence is that they are vulnerable to getting into the wrong endeavor or crowd. Eric Fromm (1941, 1969), the renowned social psychologist and psychoanalyst, argued that humans find pure freedom uncomfortable and lonely, therefore are prone “either to escape from the burden of freedom into new dependencies and submission, or to advance to the full realization of positive freedom” (p. x). Apparently, advancing to realization is not so easy. So the tendency in a vacuum is to stay isolated and deteriorate or to join the wrong group. Under these conditions it takes an especially powerful pull to draw people to worthwhile endeavors. Shortly, we make the case that deep learning is such a force.

There is no reason for the majority of students to take conventional schooling seriously.

But there are other things to worry about, and they are getting worse. There is conflict in the world. It is probably not greater than at other times in history, but it is more instantly visible and reactions are more lethal and scary in our globally connected world. We say that the big picture (where is the big world going?) and the small picture (where do I fit in?) are fusing. They are now on the same page. Even 8-year-olds and younger feel the anxiety on a daily basis. These days, because the world is so volatile and transparent, anxiety starts earlier for more kids, is prolonged for increasing numbers, and as such literally damages the brain. At the same time, access to information is exploding and immediate. Sometimes, none of the alternatives make sense: escape ostrich-like has little attraction, and knowing how to fight back or even what to fight remains mysterious. Our book is meant to help those who are willing to undertake the journey into a promising, but in many ways unknown territory. In such cases, being a good learner is the ultimate freedom.

Finally, there is another rapidly growing destructive trend, namely greater inequality in cities. Richard Florida (2017) documents, in careful detail, trends in the United States that place greater numbers of the poor “trapped in persistent poverty. . . . By 2014, 14 million Americans lived in concentrated poverty in extremely poor neighborhoods—the highest figure ever recorded and twice as many as in 2000” (p. 98).

In the course of this book, we explore the role that deep learning might play in helping reverse the deadening effects of persistent poverty, and in the last chapter we link deep learning to other policy solutions. The basic point is that from a societal perspective, and from a human vantage point, the conditions are absolutely right for a powerful, positive, compelling solution. That solution, ready to be made, is deep learning. Why do we say so, and what is deep learning in this context?

The Allure of Deep Learning

We describe here the essence of deep learning with the details of our model, along with plenty of examples, taken up in Chapter 2. What gives humans meaning in life is a strong sense of identity around a purpose or passion, creativity and mastery in relation to a valued pursuit, and connectedness with the world and others (for a similar list, see Mehta & Fine, 2015). The key question is not only how does one obtain this triple fulfillment, but also how do scores of people do so, especially those around us? One piece of good news is that it is easier for many people to accomplish this than it is for one of us at a time to do so, due to the power of contagion and mutual help. When we began the deep learning journey in 2014, we thought it was a compelling idea, but we did not even pose the question “Does everyone have the potential to find purpose, skill, and connection?” In implementing deep learning in scores of settings, we began to see that under the right conditions immersive learning reaches everyone. It was this realization that led us to the “equity hypothesis” referred to above: Deep learning is good for all but is especially effective for those most disconnected from schooling.

Deep learning is good for all but is especially effective for those most disconnected from schooling.

To illustrate (more examples to come in subsequent chapters), let’s take three examples from our work: one, a male elementary student who was disconnected from school; two, a female student who was part of a group that decided to study sustainability in Sweden; and three, a male student who found school unchallenging until the learning became relevant. All three cases are reported by the students’ teachers.

Disconnected Student

Alex, Elementary Student; Ontario, Canada

This experience is shared from the perspective of a Grade One male student, Alex. Alex came to school in September with great anxiety and low self-esteem due to seeing himself as being different from everyone else because he stutters. He would rarely participate or join group tasks because of his fear of stuttering and how he would be perceived by his peers. He seemed convinced no one would want to listen to him, and he was definitely not willing to take the risk.

Early in October, our class began collaborating with a group of high school students with a diverse set of needs. Since we were not located near the high school, most of the collaboration occurred using Google Apps for Education including Google Hangouts, Google Docs, and Google Slides. As Alex became familiar with leveraging technology and as collaboration grew, so did he. I think he became so engaged in the deep learning process—solving real-world problems with his team, having the opportunity to contribute to his own learning through research, and sharing out his ideas in new ways, as well as having his ideas validated by not only his peers but also high school students—that the risk-taking and speaking just naturally evolved as part of the process. It was beautiful to watch! And that was Grade One.

The following year in Grade Two, Alex spoke before our school Board of Trustees to discuss his learning experiences. Here is a quote from his speech:

I still remember when I didn’t talk that much. I never would have thought I could be a public speaker!! So how did this happen? Grade One, that’s how.

He went on to share even more about deep learning:

I was excited with the learning that was happening in my class. I had choice in my learning. I got to learn with technology and that’s the way my brain works. Most importantly for me, collaboration was expected and happened every day. Collaboration is important to me because my ideas get bigger when I share with other people and then my brain gets bigger.

Now, Alex is in Grade Three, and there is no stopping him! Our school gathered as a community of learners to celebrate math and share best practices with parents. Alex was leading the Math Talk portion of the workshops. He was encouraging parents to collaborate, to participate and validating the ideas of everyone. If I had not been there that September morning to witness this child previously so full of anxiety, so fearful to speak and unable to take risks, I would never believe it could possibly be the same student I now know today.

6Cs Go to Sweden

Mara, Middle School Student; Ottawa, Canada

Mara is in a middle school that calls itself a “6Cs school” (6Cs: character, citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking). As part of a school initiative, a group of 13-year-old students with their principal and teachers planned to visit and study sustainability in Sweden. The following is an excerpt from Mara, a student who very creatively submitted a suitcase filled with travel documents including a boarding pass and a list of things to remember as her applicatio...