Week 14

What is… collateral damage?

What is… collateral learning?

“Perhaps the greatest of all pedagogical fallacies is the notion that a person learns only what he is studying at the time. Collateral learning in the way of formation of enduring attitudes…may be and often is more important than the spelling lesson or lesson in geography or history. […] For these attitudes are fundamentally what count in the future.”

John Dewey, Experience and Education.

Project 2

Reflections on Collateral Damage Learning

Think back over the course of the semester to a session that didn't go quite as planned--where, perhaps, what the student took away from the session wasn't exactly what you intended. Take a few minutes and write about the experience. (Note: you'll be sharing this!)

• What happened during the session? Just the facts, human.
• What did you want the student to learn in the session?
• What do you think the student actually took away from the session?
• What do you think caused the miscommunication?

Let's break up. It's not you, it's me Groups of at least 3, but no more than 4.

• Trade papers with a partner. Read about their session, and write a thoughtful question. By this, I mean a question that will help the writer thoughtfully reflect on the experience.
• Retrieve your paper from your partner. Read their thoughtful question, and write a thoughtful response. Trust that their question will reveal something interesting, and follow it where it leads.
• Trade papers with a new partner. Read the conversation up to this point, and write a thoughtful question. This question can continue the thread of the conversation, or call back to something else in the session.