Personal learning philosophy v1

My philosophy of learning is a bit nebulous or so I thought till I wrote this. I am not a teacher and thus personal experience will play a key role in gaining clarity about my philosophy. Luckily, I spent a long time thinking about my own learning experiences, as one is wont to do when they find a passion for academia that their peers often shunned.

There is one aspect of learning that I do find most critical and that is curiosity. I say curiosity because learning does not occur when a student’s mind starts off in a state of rejection or sheer disinterest. Any “learning” that occurs in that state is an impostor at best. I am unsure the wrong and right ways of tapping into that curiosity but I know that once that door is open, the best learning can begin; because the mind is now open to wrestling with unfamiliar ideas and willing to play with them.

Every time I think about curiosity, the word fun tends not to be far behind. And as I just mentioned, curiosity leads to play and play is almost by definition fun. It is the nature of many species for the young to learn by playing [think lion cubs wrestling], and humans are no different. Learning in our very earliest years after all tends to be very hands on and playful and engaging. And while what form “play” takes as we grow older may change, it is nonetheless critical to have some fun learning and if not then the why not must be addressed. Adults especially should strive to ensure their own learning is fun and not be afraid to just play with things.

Keeping along this line, if a student is not curious [and to be fair, everyone is different], what should be done? In part, this I believe is an important role of the teacher. Of course a teacher should be knowledgeable but especially in this modern world where information is everywhere, a teacher needs to be someone who engages a student’s innate curiosity and then guides them on the path to properly assessing and applying new information. Not unlike some ancient Greek models, the modern role of the teacher is thus in part to teach students to think and apply reason correctly.

The students role is a bit more simple. Give due respect to teachers but never be afraid to ask questions and even challenge long-held beliefs of yourself or others [provided this is done rationally and respectfully]. Be open to new ideas and always kindle your own curiosity and passion. Also, try not to become dismayed by learning and challenges. It is okay to fail and struggle, learning is rarely easy. From my own experience as a person with a math degree and a longtime math-nerd, I too often saw friends and students who struggled with math at some point in K-12 and after that consciously or subconsciously  gave up on it.

Lastly the role of technology. I already hinted that part of the role of technology is the information side of things. But it also serves a pivotal role in allowing learning to remain engaging and fun. I credit technology with my love of learning from an early age. I played a great deal of educational games growing up and I truly believe they quite subconsciously instilled in me the idea that challenges and learning new things do not inherently need to be boring. In many ways games and fun are at the crux of all I just described.

One final note is that there are many different types of learners and I am certain my philosophy cannot work for all of them. It is also the role of a teacher to ensure students learn in a way that best suites them.