Well I think there is a case for recording learning - both you and the kids. In the experiential model of learning there is a constant motion between experience and learning. You do something, you think about what you learned. It's a bit like scientific method... you do an experiment, then analyse the results. Unless we are thinking about the learning in whatever method of schooling we use, then we are only getting halfway through the learning cycle. It is the articulation or analysis that actually makes us think about things so it is as important to learning as the doing part. It helps us to think about what we should do differently next time, it helps us to learn our lessons so we dont have to repeat the same mistakes, it makes us feel good when we can say "we learned this!". It is brilliant to go back a year later and be able to see how far we have come.
Don't despair of recording. I think it is as important for the kids as it is for you.
That's a good point. But do you think you can still get that analysis without written documentation? We talk a lot, about the things that we've done and where we can go with it from here. And we do keep records - completed computer games, screenshots of Minecraft creations, photos of nature walks - but just not in any kind of quantifiable way.
Comparing this idea of documentation to an academic paper is super hard. One of the things we're all told about a "good journal article" (whether writing or reading it), is the ability to duplicate the method/results documented. "If it's a one off - nobody is going to publish it".
When you're looking at the big "report" on what you guys are learning, there is no way to duplicate that process - having a custom built see-where-the-mind-takes-us approach to learning (which I think is awesome!) will only ever be done once, according to the context.
What a big annoying catch-22.
I don't really know where that leaves you, but just thought I would share what I was thinking :)
Well cello there! I have a feeling that I know you :)
Documentation in this case is really about an anecdotal report. I keep a blog for the kids about what we do, just so we can look back and see all the fun that we've had. But anything more than that serves no purpose for us, and I'm so frustrated that I have to try and force our homeschooling experience into outdated models of learning.
Well I think there is a case for recording learning - both you and the kids. In the experiential model of learning there is a constant motion between experience and learning. You do something, you think about what you learned. It's a bit like scientific method... you do an experiment, then analyse the results. Unless we are thinking about the learning in whatever method of schooling we use, then we are only getting halfway through the learning cycle. It is the articulation or analysis that actually makes us think about things so it is as important to learning as the doing part. It helps us to think about what we should do differently next time, it helps us to learn our lessons so we dont have to repeat the same mistakes, it makes us feel good when we can say "we learned this!". It is brilliant to go back a year later and be able to see how far we have come.
ReplyDeleteDon't despair of recording. I think it is as important for the kids as it is for you.
That's a good point. But do you think you can still get that analysis without written documentation? We talk a lot, about the things that we've done and where we can go with it from here. And we do keep records - completed computer games, screenshots of Minecraft creations, photos of nature walks - but just not in any kind of quantifiable way.
ReplyDeleteI read this. . . I don't have anything to add of value, so I'll just say, "i liked it."
ReplyDeleteI value your liking.
DeleteI like your valuing.
DeleteComparing this idea of documentation to an academic paper is super hard. One of the things we're all told about a "good journal article" (whether writing or reading it), is the ability to duplicate the method/results documented. "If it's a one off - nobody is going to publish it".
ReplyDeleteWhen you're looking at the big "report" on what you guys are learning, there is no way to duplicate that process - having a custom built see-where-the-mind-takes-us approach to learning (which I think is awesome!) will only ever be done once, according to the context.
What a big annoying catch-22.
I don't really know where that leaves you, but just thought I would share what I was thinking :)
Well cello there! I have a feeling that I know you :)
DeleteDocumentation in this case is really about an anecdotal report. I keep a blog for the kids about what we do, just so we can look back and see all the fun that we've had. But anything more than that serves no purpose for us, and I'm so frustrated that I have to try and force our homeschooling experience into outdated models of learning.