Is “every experience a moving force” in our curriculum?

As I struggle through writer’s block (after a very intense couple of months of work and more), trying to organise and finish off this ULL assignment, I find myself pulled back into the literature, thinking about the quotes of educationalists past and present. Recent reading about Dewey and Vygostky has been stimulating, as I realise that we, educationalists, have been having these same conversations for a hundred years or more*.

This is quote from Dewey (1938’s Experience and Education (pdf)) makes me think a lot about the essence of my argument about MYP: Mind the Gap. Are we creating learners for the future, giving them a “moving force” of an educational experience, or are we limiting education to preparation for external exams? I like to think we’re getting the best of both worlds.

JohnDewey_ExperienceMovingForce_iBiologyStephen
John Dewey on “Experience and Education.” Click through for a pdf.

*Actually thousands – I’m also reading Martin Robinson’s (@surrealanarchy) “Trivium 21C,” which traces the debates on how education ‘works’ back to Socrates and Aristotle.

JohnDewey_isms_iBiologyStephen
This quote is a good reminder to stop drawing lines in the sand. We don’t need more ‘isms, we need better education for a better world. I don’t know the source of the cartoon, but hopefully someone can find it. I did try a GoogleImages reverse-search.

Comments

4 responses to “Is “every experience a moving force” in our curriculum?”

  1. MYP: Mind the Gap [MA Assignment] | i-Biology | Reflections Avatar

    […] Is every experience a ‘moving force’? Some Dewey graphorisms […]

  2. The Buoyant Force of Continuum Learning | Ripples & Reflections Avatar

    […] harness the present enthusiasm and inquiry and build on past excitement and learning to create the moving force of experience that carries learners […]

  3. Inquiry vs Enquiry | Ripples & Reflections Avatar

    […] and pedagogical mastery, can create a true culture of thinking in their class, (co-)creating the moving forces of experience that pull a community of learners through the hard work of building […]

  4. Wayfinding: Ripples & Reflections | Wayfinding & Learning Avatar

    […] Experience as a “moving force” in curriculum & learning (on Dewey, curriculum design) […]

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