Editor's Podium

Learning Communities

In search of a platform to support performance levels based on student achievement…

We might assume that if we find such a platform or model, all teachers may not use the platform as well. There is always the luminosity of a great teacher that may enhance paths created by the model for students' passage to learning…

This holds true for all human endeavor. Give the plot of Othello to a good playwright; you will have a good play. Give that same plot to a Shakespeare, an Othello is created that resounds through the centuries. Well and good - it is now common acceptance that the training and the quality of teacher (the gift of the playwright) will make the difference in education.

Except we have learned or maybe Socratically rediscovered a thing or two. Teaching is really not a tree falling in the forest - with or without sound. Teaching is one part of a trilogy - the other two are learning and interaction or in homeopathic terms, the teacher, the learner, and change.

The significant difference, (and this is fortunate for teachers since not all of us may be equally gifted although, indeed, we may be truly dedicated to our profession), lies within the learners and the interaction, not merely between teacher and learners but ongoing interaction and exchange among the learners themselves as well as with their teachers - guide/side or mentor/center - whatever phase we choose.

Consider Bloom's Taxonomy
(arguably as valuable and insightful now as it was 50 years ago):

Competence	Skills Demonstrated	Question Cues:
Knowledge	observation and recall of information knowledge of dates, events, places knowledge of major ideas mastery of subject matter .	list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name, who, when, where, etc
Comprehension	understanding information grasp meaning translate knowledge into new context interpret facts, compare, contrast order, group, infer causes predict consequences	summarize, describe, interpret, contrast, predict, associate, distinguish, estimate, differentiate, discuss, extend
Application	use information use methods, concepts, theories in new situations solve problems using required skills or knowledge	apply, demonstrate, calculate, complete, illustrate, show, solve, examine, modify, relate, change, classify, experiment, discover
Analysis	seeing patterns organization of parts recognition of hidden meanings identification of components	analyze, separate, order, explain, connect, classify, arrange, divide, compare, select, explain, infer
Synthesis	use old ideas to create new ones generalize from given facts relate knowledge from several areas predict, draw conclusions	combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, substitute, plan, create, design, invent, what it?, compose, formulate, prepare, generalize, rewrite
Evaluation	compare and discriminate between ideas assess value of theories, presentations make choices based on reasoned argument verify value of evidence recognize subjectivity	assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare, summarize

* Adapted from: Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The classification of educational goals: Handbook I, Cognitive Domain. New York; Toronto: Longmans.

Now as then, the greater achievements for learners are not acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, and application, but analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

The human mind can create but does not compete with a computer chip or a transistor - good thing, too - it would lose hands down! Humanity could not and would not have survived as a database. Certainly information, data must be stored and retrieved but critical to human beings is analysis, synthesis and evaluation - the creativity based on our human ability to interact and rearrange our data.

We submit that education is not the establishment of a global technology based BORG COLLECTIVE where everyone has instant access to the same resources and data and has unmitigated total recall. The vision of education lies in human ability to learn through interaction and evolve a comprehensive shared understanding and respect of human endeavor.

Following are articles from three teachers, comments from several others and, experiences of several students pursuing technology based classes. Lastly, there are extraordinary student materials contributed by the Communities of Learners evolving from technology-based learning models or platforms developed by Dr. Guy Bensusan over the past twenty years. These intertwined Learning Models are the Hexadigm, Ladder, Bias, Source Evaluation, and Schools of Thought. These are included in Dr. Bensusan’s article, Anatomy of Learning.