True achievement in education lies in self-actualization through meaningful learning experiences.
Educators play a crucial role in guiding students to understand how to learn effectively.
Promoting self-managed development processes in education empowers students for real-world success.
Deep dives
Redefining Achievement and Learning in Education
In the podcast episode, the discussion centers around redefining achievement and learning in the education system. It emphasizes the importance of shifting the focus from standardized testing to fostering deep engagement with skills and knowledge. The critical insight is that true achievement lies in self-actualization through meaningful learning experiences that empower students to leverage their interests and abilities for positive contributions to society.
The Role of Educators in Facilitating Deep Learning
The conversation explores the crucial role of educators in facilitating deep learning experiences. It highlights the significance of educators guiding students in understanding how to learn effectively and enhancing teaching methods to encourage meaningful engagement. By engaging with students through emotion and self-awareness, educators can support not only academic growth but also personal development across various domains.
Promoting Self-Managed Development Processes
A key point discussed is the importance of promoting self-managed development processes in education. By allowing students to take ownership of their learning journey and make decisions based on self-assessment, schools can build skills essential for success in real-world scenarios. Empowering students to assess their own work, seek feedback, and iteratively improve supports the development of critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-evaluation skills.
Challenges and Opportunities in Reforming Education Systems
The podcast delves into the challenges and opportunities involved in reforming education systems to align with a more holistic approach to learning. It underlines the need for a paradigm shift in assessing student achievement away from merely test scores to a more dynamic and performance-based assessment. Implementing progressive and alternative education models that focus on portfolios, collaboration, and community feedback can offer a more nuanced approach to evaluating student growth and capabilities.
Shifting Educational Priorities
The discussion emphasizes the need to shift educational priorities towards nurturing the developmental processes rather than focusing solely on standardized outcomes. Parents and educators are encouraged to engage in a process-oriented way with students, focusing on understanding how students think and encouraging deep intellectual engagement instead of solely chasing grades or standardized metrics. The podcast highlights the importance of appreciating the journey of learning and development in young learners, advocating for a shift in school structures, assessments, and success metrics to support holistic growth and learning.
Impacts of Deep Engagement with Learning
The conversation delves into the significance of deep emotional engagement and meaningful narrative-making in fostering brain growth and interconnectedness in adolescents. By engaging students in compelling real-world stories and encouraging them to make transcendent connections, educators facilitate brain development that goes beyond traditional measures of success. The narrative underscores the importance of supporting students in exploring complex, intellectually challenging ideas, forming deep connections, and deriving personal lessons from diverse narratives to promote holistic growth and social-emotional development.
This week’s conversation is with Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, a Professor of Education, Psychology, Human Development and Neuroscience at the University of Southern California.
Mary Helen studies the psychological and neurobiological development of emotion and self-awareness of adolescents in educational settings. Since earning her doctorate from Harvard in 2005, she has received numerous awards for her research and impact on education and society, including an Honor Coin from the U.S. Army, a Commendation from the County of Los Angeles, and a Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Currently, Mary Helen is conducting several funded, multiyear neurobiological research studies on adolescent students and their teachers. In this conversation we discuss how students really learn, and what we can do to enhance how we teach in an education system.
But Mary Helen’s insights extend far beyond the educational setting – those with a deep understanding of the role emotion plays in human development will have a distinct advantage for just about any endeavor one is interested in – whether that be as a modern leader, a parent or coach, athlete or teammate. And that’s why I wanted to roll up my sleeves with Mary Helen.
For more information and shownotes from every episode, head to findingmastery.net.
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