Sparking Creativity: The Role of Connected Learning

Connected Learning, which connects interests, peer culture, and academic success, is a model of education that is truly appropriate for the early 21st century.  As we discussed in class on Wednesday night, education has become a process of measuring “outcomes.” Perhaps it has always been this way, but now that we have all seen how technology can transform education into so much more, this traditional view has come under criticism. The abundance of information and the ease of accessing that information allows us reexamine the purpose of education; if it is no longer a challenge to obtain knowledge, then we can ask ourselves- what can we do with all of the knowledge that we have? What was the purpose of learning it in the first place? In the day-to-day grind and the policy making of education, these questions seem to get lost, or obscured by the pressing needs of passing the next test. This brings us to another topic we discussed in class- how institutions can sometimes be slow to change, even when many people want to change them.

Part of the appeal of academia, however, is the hope of being able to rise above some of that institutional sluggishness. That is the main reason why, for me, teaching college is much more appealing than teaching high school. From my viewpoint, a teacher of a college course has more power to implement his or her vision for the purpose of the course, while a high school teacher faces more constraints. This brings the conversation back to me, and the rest of the students in contemporary pedagogy, as we begin our journeys into teaching careers. My hope for this class is that it will help me to develop my own ideas for the purpose of education in general, and economics education in particular, and how I can use Connected Learning to implement those ideas.

A good starting point here is the idea brought forth by Scott Rosenberg in his article “How Blogs Changed Everything” of human creativity being “like a gene that will turn on given the right cues.” If human creativity is the key to solving the world’s problems, and I believe that it is, then the purpose of education should be to spark this creativity. Connected Learning provides an abundance of potential “cues,” as well as the opportunity for learning to occur once the creativity gene has been “turned on.” Right now it is Thursday afternoon and I am sitting in my living room, excited about the upcoming snowstorm. I have never been very interested in learning about how weather predictions are made, but this week my curiosity has been piqued, as I hear vastly different estimates for the total snowfall we will receive. The “cue” here in sparking that interest was a feeling of snow-deprivation after living in Virginia too long (I am from Massachusetts) combined with the discovery that there are many different models of weather prediction. Thanks to facebook posts by knowledgeable friends, websites, and weather blogs, I will be able to fuel that spark of interest with information all evening if I want to. In other words, the possibility of Connected Learning provides me with more opportunities to learn about something that interests me than I could hope to take advantage of.

As a researcher, I believe it is my responsibility to add to this network of knowledge. I agree with Tim Hitchcock, who argues in his blog post “Twitter and blogs are not just add-ons to academic research, but a simple reflection of the passion underpinning it” that public conversations should be a central part of an academic’s work. I want my research to be applicable to problems, and to spark ideas that others may have.

As a teacher, I hope to keep in mind what the purpose of my course is,  and to use the framework of Connected Learning to spark student’s interests and creativity. Gardner Campbell’s article “Narrate, Curate, Share: How Blogging Can Catalyze Learning” points out that putting what you have learned into your own words, like you do when blogging,  reinforces learning.  I have noticed in my own learning that information really only sticks when I have put it into my own words, when I can reproduce it on my own, even if only in my head. I hope therefore that as an instructor, I can create assignments and environments which encourage students to do this.

Thinking about the potential power of Connected Learning in education has forced me to think theoretically about the purpose of learning and how that purpose can be fulfilled. It has also opened my mind to practical tools that can be used to connect students with knowledge and, more importantly, inspiration.