Context Sketches

I started this post almost a month ago, but my opening quote scared me enough that I hit a wall:

 We won't meet the needs for more and better higher education until professors become designers of learning experiences and not teachers. Larry D. Spence

I really do love this quote, but when it came to actually applying it, to talking about what I was doing to design learning experiences I felt completely and utterly inadequate. Then last night during our English class, a few more pieces connected for me in this journey to re-frame Learning and Education. The connecting piece can be summed up with a question:

 Where is the proper dividing line between what people can do for themselves or with the help of friends and family, and what they require professional help for?

Dr. Michel Odent The De-Medicalization of Childbirth

One of my goals with this blog is to help create a world where Learners seek the very best context and the very best Primer Learners to help them reach their goals. I also want to help Learners and Primer Learners foster effective learning contexts where Learners Drive their own Education. There are so many experts out there with so many different theories about how to optimize learning, and Dr Odent’s question reminded me that if we spend too much time worrying about how to apply what the experts are teaching us, very few of us will actually put in the effort to create learning experiences for the Learners we have the opportunity to impact.

With that introduction, I’d like to introduce Context Sketch posts to this blog.

Soon after starting this blog I began looking at my situation from the perspective of Context. How do all of the Contexts in a given learning situation influence the Learner and their drive for Education? How can a Prime Learner help Learners to use these contexts to meet their immediate and long term needs? I am anxious that LDE be a place for discussing how those factors work together and how a Prime Learner can create valuable learning experiences that will help a learner meet their needs. Context Sketches will be posts where Prime Learners can learn from the experience of others and gain the confidence to step outside of dominate definitions of teaching and into that of creating learning experiences, or in other words, facilitating a Context that will help your Learners Drive their own Education.

The first one we’ll do is my English Classes for Chinese kids here in China. Stay tuned!!! Also, I hope you’ll start thinking of ideas for future Context Studies. Post them in a comment on the Learning Experiences page of this blog.

~vbb

P.S. While some of us may fit the definition of an educational Professional, I hope we can learn from each other as we would friends. Besides, I find it highly unlikely that anyone could be more of an expert on your learning Contexts than You!