How does the “conventional” education compare to the “non-traditional” or “progressive” education? The notion of a conventional education varies depending on geography and culture, but the main criticism is that traditional education focuses more on the teaching, not the learning. As it is now, the bulk of education exists particularly for the purpose of standardized testing and memorization. However, most things that are learned in the classroom are often forgotten or irrelevant to the student’s respective interests. Besides, our children eventually obtain the ability to learn how to walk, talk, eat, and dress without being necessarily taught how. Adults retain most of their working skills either from leisure or work. Reformers argue that self-expression and student-based instruction are more beneficial approaches to student learning. It is in this domain that progressive learning differs from the teacher-based learning.
Hi Ken:
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting question; I like it. My main concern is that you seem to be looking at two vast concepts-- the idea of "traditional," and the idea of "progressive" education. You'll need to find some way to narrow your scope, perhaps by describing how you define effectiveness in education (you'll need to find some sources that speak back to or extend your POV).
Ken, I really enjoy this research question. There is a lot of strong ground in which you can move forward from. I most enjoyed the part about learning more from life experiences than from traditional classroom settings (I also completely agree with this). I believe that you could use this angle to base a good portion of you research from; it is a strong angle to look at. I'm interested to see how far you can take this research, and what other questions may arise from this. Good job man, keep it up!
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