The following was inspired by Seth Godin’s post “What king of customers do you want?“
Do you want learners (students) who are:
Needy
Independent
Inquisitive
Apathentic
Bored
Engaged
Followers
Leaders
Distracted
Attentive
Analytical
Checklisters
Grade oriented
Learning focused
Creative
Plagarists
Empathetic
Selfish
Optimistic
Cynical
Eager
Confident
Afraid
Focused
Easily distracted
Here’s the thing: you get what you reward. Your learners respond to the learning environment that you create. If you don’t purposefully build a learning environment that requires personal responsibilty, reinforces a growth mindset, and fosters a passion for deeper learning you end up with what you tolerate.
You might not get the learners you deserve, but you will probably end up with the learners you attract.
Sure, you can stick to traditional methods and make it easier for everyone by teaching to the test. But is it worth it?
Choose.
