Category: EDUCATION

AI is quickly becoming a powerful change in online language learning (i.e., through eLearning), and it can significantly change how the material is delivered and how well learning systems work.

When AI is added to eLearning platforms, they become smart tools that customize learning experiences to meet students’ needs and run fun and useful training classes. 

Let’s take a quick look at how AI is changing eLearning, what it can do, where it is being used now, and how it might be used in the future.

A unique experience for each person

Thus, one of the best things about AI-powered eLearning is its ability to provide personalized lessons. AI programs that analyze huge amounts of data about each student show them their habits, hobbies, and success. Because of this research, a sample program will be made that fits each student’s needs. 

For example, well used, AI can address these concerns. It can figure out the topics the learner has the most problems with and provide them with extra links to articles, problems, or explanations in simpler terms.

Additionally, using an algorithm, these platforms can identify various courses and learning material that might interest the learner relative to the activities they have engaged in previously, similar to how the use of an algorithm suggests films or television shows to the learners. 

This personalization helps boost learners’ interest and contributes to better learning. The learners face material that is neither too difficult nor too easy, so it does not challenge them.

Adaptive technologies

This phenomenon is also known as self-paced learning and is another sphere where AI is now used actively. Integrated teaching technologies may take lots of time to develop and incorporate into classes because traditional eLearning platforms provide standardized course delivery for all students, which can hardly meet individual needs and learning rates.

Smart learning technologies use AI, where the teaching material and learning level offered to the learner are continually modified depending on their performance.

Another benefit of the suggested learning process is that if the student performs well in some subject, the system can take the learner to the next level. On the other hand, if the learner is struggling, the system can recommend easier content or other practice exercises for improved completion. 

This ability allows learners not to switch off or drop off while assisting them to complete their courses as desired, thereby enhancing their learning experiences.

Intelligent tutoring systems

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) that use AI algorithms to assist learners are changing the learning support paradigm. These systems are designed to incorporate natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to deliver personalized tutorials online. Additionally, ITS can provide human-like counseling in the tutor template, explaining concepts, answering questions, and giving comments.

For instance, an AI tutor assists a learner with a problem that requires mathematical computations. It guides the learner through the process while providing suggestions and feedback. This immediate feedback loop enables the learners to be conscious of their errors and the effects of making such mistakes, enhancing their mastery of the conent. 

Moreover, ITS can run per shift around the clock, which means that learners can get support at any time that is suitable to them. This is advantageous, mainly as paced learning is incongruous with a normal classroom setting.

If you still prefer live tutors for learning foreign languages ​​online, for example, online French tutors or others, they can also be easily found.

Improved engagement and interaction

AI also increases learner engagement and interaction through chatbots and Virtual Assistants. AI-integrated solutions can be utilized in eLearning to help bridge a gap between students and the course, responding to questions, supplying details, and instructing users on how to get around the system. 

The conversation could be beneficial for handling simpler questions and concerns, such as registration for specific classes or IT-related questions, so the instructor would be free to address more constructive and valuable activities.

Increased NLP proficiency in virtual assistants indicates that AI-powered paradigms applied to learning can reach learners in a more personalized way. They can, for example, can provide questions and answers, set debates, or even create real-life cases for a training session. These features of the learning content can help make the practice less passive and, therefore, more easily retained by the consumer.

Data-driven insights and analytics

AI can now analyze tremendous eLearning data, such as platforms analyzing content and learners. Analyzing learners’ interactions, course completion rates, and performance enables the AI system to produce data that instructors and leaders can use to review the efficiency of the learning programs offered and the issues that necessitate attention. To reiterate, these evidence-based practices lead to new knowledge that can help make the necessary improvements in learning.

For example, it can provide information on learners’ behavior at certain points and problematic areas that are often poorly understood. This information can be helpful to educators in modifying teaching strategies, changing the curriculum, and administering more appropriate interventions for learners who may have difficulty grasping what is being taught. In addition, predictive type analysis can also determine future learning requirements and effects so that plans and resources can be made beforehand.

Scalability and efficiency

The flexibility of many AI-powered eLearning platforms is yet another strong selling point in their favor. Historically, to deliver education, there were structured or conventional modes of teaching that somewhat failed to meet the pace of development, especially in answering the learner’s needs across geographic regions. AI in eLearning helps the necessary electronic platforms provide learners with individualized and high-quality education with diverse learners at once.

Additional program functions, including grading, messaging (and other management activities), and tracking the learners’ progress, also improve operational effectiveness. AI systems can quickly and effectively complete these tasks by using algorithms, thus taking the load off educators and allowing them to work on higher-level creative processes. This efficiency not only brings down the companies’ operation costs but also enhances the level of education.

Challenges and future potential

As beneficial as it is, implementing AI in eLearning applications has drawbacks. Challenges visible in the current form of data-driven decision-making include data privacy, bias in algorithms, and the fact that it initially requires a lot of investment in information technology and infrastructure. Human concerns include the need to make AI systems as transparent, ethical, and secure as possible to gain the trust of learners and instructors.

When analyzing AI’s abundant potential in eLearning, it is important to look both to today’s classroom and the future. The evolutions in AI technologies, including deep learning and neonates, portray the future and more efficient learning tools in educational systems.

Eventually, it will be easier for AI to be combined with other umbrella technologies, including AR and VR; this will make lessons more real-life-like and involving than ever.

by Terrell Heick

Will robots replace teachers?

I was asked this in an interview a years ago for Futurism and tried to offer up some abstract nonsense whose lack of clarity represented my own thinking:

“Will artificial intelligence replace teachers? Will the students themselves replace teachers through self-directed learning, social/digital communities, and adaptive technology?”

These might be the wrong questions, a product of our sentimentality as a culture and human insecurity in general. For example, if we say that robots can replace teachers, it is seen as a slight at teachers because we suggest that even simple, mindless machines can do what teachers do.

Of course, that’s not at all the point or truth.

That’s what’s confusing about new tools: they don’t improve things as much as they change them.

These questions are difficult to answer for other reasons, too, mainly because we are thinking about teaching and learning in terms of technology, automation, and the increasing the efficiency of teaching as it is instead of rethinking teaching as it might be.

That’s what’s confusing about new tools: they don’t improve things as much as they change them.

But if we can ignore that time/space paradox and assume that the pace of social and technological change will continue to outpace change in education far, then technology can very well replace teachers as we think of them.

Will it be AI that does it? Again, today we think of AI independently and often emotionally and as an idea in the same way we used to think of electricity.

Or we think about ‘mobile devices’ today primarily in contrast to the previous tradition of ‘non-mobile technology.’ We can think of a smartphone as an improved wall phone rather than something else entirely.

Telephones solved the problem of needing to communicate across distances.

AI–is it solving a problem or creating something entirely new?

Technology, as a vague term, is often (though not always) created to solve a problem.

What problem were schools designed to address or solve?

What About Schools?

What problem were schools designed to address or solve?

‘What do schools ‘do,’ and how might something else–a non-school–do it better?’

What else could current schools–as they are–do or be?

That would be a nice start, but that isn’t far enough. Move farther and ask, ‘What human need did we originally design schools to solve?’

That’s seeing school today as a solution.

What does a person need to know to live well in sustainable interdependence with the people and places around them and what’s the best way to help support and nurture that?

That’s seeing schools as they ideally might be tomorrow.

Should we measure the value of technology by how it improves the former or enables the latter?

What exactly should new tools improve or what exactly should they create?

by TeachThought Staff

Paulo Freire’s “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed” is a foundational text in educational theory. Its enduring significance stems from its profound critique of traditional teaching and learning methods.

Written in the 1960s, this influential work remains as relevant today as it was at the time of its publication, offering insights into the nature of oppression and the transformative potential of education.

By challenging the concept of ‘banking education,’ Freire presents a compelling case for an alternative approach, one that positions education as a tool for liberation and emancipation, particularly for those marginalized and oppressed within society.

Freire’s work critiques traditional pedagogical practices and offers a compelling vision for a more just and participatory education system. In today’s changing world, with its diverse challenges and inequalities, Freire’s emphasis on dialogical, problem-posing education—where students are active co-creators of knowledge—holds particular resonance.

See also What Is Cognitive Constructionism?

Through this lens, educators are inspired to forge collaborative and critical learning spaces, recognizing the agency and lived experiences of learners. As we grapple with issues of social justice and equity in education, “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed” remains a powerful critique of oppressive systems and–with the right mindset–a roadmap for transformation.

The Pedagogy Of The Oppressed Freire

A careful analysis of the teacher-student relationship at any level, inside or outside the school, reveals its fundamentally narrative character. This relationship involves a narrating Subject (the teacher) and patient listening objects (the students). The contents, whether values or empirical dimensions of reality, tend in the process of being narrated to become lifeless and petrified. Education is suffering from narration sickness.

The teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable. Or else he expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the students. His task is to “fill” the students with the contents of his narration — contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated, and alienating verbosity.

The outstanding characteristic of this narrative education, then, is the sonority of words, not their transforming power. “Four times four is sixteen; the capital of Para is Belem.” The student records, memorizes, and repeats these phrases without perceiving what four times four really means, or realizing the true significance of “capital” in the affirmation “the capital of Para is Belem,” that is, what Belem means for Para and what Para means for Brazil.

The student records, memorizes, and repeats these phrases without perceiving what four times four really means, or realizing the true significance of “capital”

Narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorize mechanically the narrated account. Worse yet, it turns them into “containers,” into “receptacles” to be “filled” by the teachers. The more completely she fills the receptacles, the better a teachers she is. The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are.

Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor. Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiques and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat. This is the “banking’ concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing the deposits. They do, it is true, have the opportunity to become collectors or cataloguers of the things they store. But in the last analysis, it is the people themselves who are filed away through the lack of creativity, transformation, and knowledge in this (at best) misguided system. For apart from inquiry, apart from the praxis, individuals cannot be truly human. Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.

In the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing. Projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry. The teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence. The students, alienated like the slave in the Hegelian dialectic, accept their ignorance as justifying the teachers existence — but unlike the slave, they never discover that they educate the teacher.

The raison d’etre of libertarian education, on the other hand, lies in its drive towards reconciliation. Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students.

Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction….

This solution is not (nor can it be) found in the banking concept. On the contrary, banking education maintains and even stimulates the contradiction through the following attitudes and practices, which mirror oppressive society as a whole:

• the teacher teaches and the students are taught;
• the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;
• the teacher thinks and the students are thought about;
• the teacher talks and the students listen — meekly;
• the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;
• the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply;
• the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher;
• the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who were not consulted) adapt to it;
• the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his or her own professional authority, which she and he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students;
• the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere objects.

It is not surprising that the banking concept of education regards men as adaptable, manageable beings. The more students work at storing the deposits entrusted to them, the less they develop the critical consciousness which would result from their intervention in the world as transformers of that world. The more completely they accept the passive role imposed on them, the more they tend simply to adapt to the world as it is and to the fragmented view of reality deposited in them.

The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the student’s creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interests of the oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed nor to see it transformed. The oppressors use their “humanitarianism” to preserve a profitable situation. Thus they react almost instinctively against any experiment in education which stimulates the critical faculties and is not content with a partial view of reality always seeks out the ties which link one point to another and one problem to another.

Indeed, the interests of the oppressors lie in “changing the consciousness of the oppressed, not the situation which oppresses them,” (1) for the more the oppressed can be led to adapt to that situation, the more easily they can be dominated. To achieve this the oppressors use the banking concept of education in conjunction with a paternalistic social action apparatus, within which the oppressed receive the euphemistic title of “welfare recipients.” They are treated as individual cases, as marginal persons who deviate from the general configuration of a “good, organized and just” society. The oppressed are regarded as the pathology of the healthy society which must therefore adjust these “incompetent and lazy” folk to its own patterns by changing their mentality. These marginals need to be “integrated,” “incorporated” into the healthy society that they have “forsaken.”

[Footnote #1: Simone de Beauvoir. La Pensee de Droite, Aujord’hui (Paris); ST, El Pensamiento politico de la Derecha (Buenos Aires, 1963), p. 34.

The truth is, however, that the oppressed are not “marginals,” are not living “outside” society. They have always been “inside” the structure which made them “beings for others.” The solution is not to ‘integrate” them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become “beings for themselves.” Such transformation, of course, would undermine the oppressors’ purposes; hence their utilization of the banking concept of education to avoid the threat of student conscientizacao.

The banking approach to adult education, for example, will never propose to students that they critically consider reality. It will deal instead with such vital questions as whether Roger gave green grass to the goat, and insist upon the importance of learning that, on the contrary, Roger gave green grass to the rabbit. The “humanism” of the banking approach masks the effort to turn women and men into automatons — the very negation of their ontological vocation to be more fully human.

To achieve this, they must be partners of the students in their relations with them.

Those who use the banking approach, knowingly or unknowingly (for there are innumerable well-intentioned bank-clerk teachers who do not realize that they are serving only to dehumanize), fail to perceive that the deposits themselves contain contradictions about reality. But sooner or later, these contradictions may lead formerly passive students to turn against their domestication and the attempt to domesticate reality. They may discover through existential experience that their present way of life is irreconcilable with their vocation to become fully human. They may perceive through their relations with reality that reality is really a process, undergoing constant transformation. If men and women are searchers and their ontological vocation is humanization, sooner or later they may perceive the contradiction in which banking education seeks to maintain them, and then engage themselves in the struggle for their liberation.

But the humanist revolutionary educator cannot wait for this possibility to materialize. From the outset, her efforts must coincide with those of the students to engage in critical thinking and the quest for mutual humanization. His efforts must be imbued with a profound trust in people and their creative power. To achieve this, they must be partners of the students in their relations with them.

The banking concept does not admit to such partnership — and necessarily so. To resolve the teacher-student contradiction, to exchange the role of depositor, prescriber, domesticator, for the role of student among students would be to undermine the power of oppression and serve the cause of liberation.

Implicit in the banking concept is the assumption of a dichotomy between human beings and the world: a person is merely in the world, not with the world or with others; the individual is spectator, not re-creator. In this view, the person is not a conscious being (corpo consciente); he or she is rather the possessor of a consciousness: an empty “mind” passively open to the reception of deposits of reality from the world outside. For example, my desk, my books, my coffee cup, all the objects before me, — as bits of the world which surround me — would be “inside” me, exactly as I am inside my study right now. This view makes no distinction between being accessible to consciousness and entering consciousness. The distinction, however, is essential: the objects which surround me are simply accessible to my consciousness, not located within it. I am aware of them, but they are not inside me.

The distinction, however, is essential: the objects which surround me are simply accessible to my consciousness, not located within it. I am aware of them, but they are not inside me.

It follows logically from the banking notion of consciousness that the educator’s role is to regulate the way the world “enters into” the students. The teacher’s task is to organize a process which already occurs spontaneously, to “fill” the students by making deposits of information which he of she considers to constitute true knowledge. (2) And since people “receive” the world as passive entities, education should make them more passive still, and adapt them to the world. The educated individual is the adapted person, because she or he is better ‘fit” for the world. Translated into practice, this concept is well suited for the purposes of the oppressors, whose tranquility rests on how well people fit the world the oppressors have created and how little they question it.

[Footnote #2: This concept corresponds to what Sartre calls the ‘digestive’ or ‘nutritive’ in which knowledge is ‘fed’ by the teacher to the students to “fill them out.” See Jean-Paul Sartre, ‘Une idee fundamentals de la phenomenologie de Husserl: L’intentionalite,” Situations I (Paris, 1947).]

The more completely the majority adapt to the purposes which the dominant majority prescribe for them (thereby depriving them of the right to their own purposes), the more easily the minority can continue to prescribe. The theory and practice of banking education serve this end quite efficiently. Verbalistic lessons, reading requirements, (3) the methods for evaluating “knowledge,” the distance between the teacher and the taught, the criteria for promotion: everything in this ready-to-wear approach serves to obviate thinking.

{Footnote #3: For example, some professors specify in their reading lists that a book should be read from pages 10 to 15 — and do this to ‘help’ their students!]

The bank-clerk educator does not realize that there is no true security in his hypertrophied role, that one must seek to live with others in solidarity. One cannot impose oneself, nor even merely co-exist with one’s students. Solidarity requires true communication, and the concept by which such an educator is guided fears and proscribes communication.

Yet only through communication can human life hold meaning. The teacher’s thinking is authenticated only by the authenticity of the students’ thinking. The teacher cannot think for her students, nor can she impose her thought on them. Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication. If it is true that thought has meaning only when generated by action upon the world, the subordination of students to teachers becomes impossible.

Because banking education begins with a false understanding of men and women as objects, it cannot promote the development of what Fromm calls “biophily,” but instead produces its opposite: “necrophily.”

While life is characterized by growth in a structured functional manner, the necrophilous person loves all that does not grow, all that is mechanical. The necrophilous person is driven by the desire to transform the organic into the inorganic, to approach life mechanically, as if all living persons were things. . . . Memory, rather than experience; having, rather than being, is what counts’ The necrophilous person can relate to an object — a flower or a person — only if he possesses it; hence a threat to his possession is a threat to himself, if he loses possession he loses contact with the world. . . . He loves control, and in the act of controlling he kills life. (4)

[Footnote #4: Fromm, op. cit. p. 41.]

Oppression –overwhelming control — is necrophilic; it is nourished by love of death, not life. The banking concept of education, which serves the interests of oppression, is also necrophilic. Based on a mechanistic, static, naturalistic, spatialized view of consciousness, it transforms students into receiving objects. It attempts to control thinking and action, leads women and men to adjust to the world, and inhibits their creative power.

When their efforts to act responsibly are frustrated, when they find themselves unable to use their faculties, people suffer. “This suffering due to impotence is rooted in the very fact that the human has been disturbed.” (5) But the inability to act which people’s anguish also causes them to reject their impotence, by attempting

. . . .to restore [their] capacity to act. But can [they], and how? One way is to submit to and identify with a person or group having power. By this symbolic participation in another person’s life, (men have] the illusion of acting, when in reality [they] only submit to and become a part of those who act. (6)

[Footnote #5: Ibid., p 31.]

[Footnote #6: Ibid. 7.]

Populist manifestations perhaps best exemplify this type of behavior by the oppressed, who, by identifying with charismatic leaders, come to feel that they themselves are active and effective. The rebellion they express as they emerge in the historical process is motivated by that desire to act effectively. The dominant elites consider the remedy to be more domination and repression, carried out in the name of freedom, order, and social peace (that is, the peace of the elites). Thus they can condemn — logically, from their point of view — “the violence of a strike by workers and [can] call upon the state in the same breath to use violence in putting down the strike.” (7)

[Footnote #7: Reinhold Niebuhr, Moral Man and Immoral Society (New York, 1960), p. 130. ]

Education as the exercise of domination stimulates the credulity of students, with the ideological intent (often not perceived by educators) of indoctrinating them to adapt to the world of oppression. This accusation is not made in the naive hope that the dominant elites will thereby simply abandon the practice. Its objective is to call the attention of true humanists to the fact that they cannot use banking educational methods in the pursuit of liberation, for they would only negate that very pursuit. Nor may a revolutionary society inherit these methods from an oppressor society. The revolutionary society which practices banking education is either misguided or mistrusting of people. In either event, it is threatened by the specter of reaction.

Unfortunately, those who espouse the cause of liberation are themselves surrounded and influenced by the climate which generates the banking concept, and often do not perceive its true significance or its dehumanizing power. Paradoxically, then, they utilize this same instrument of alienation in what they consider an effort to liberate. Indeed, some “revolutionaries” brand as “innocents,” “dreamers,” or even “reactionaries” those who would challenge this educational practice. But one does not liberate people by alienating them. Authentic liberation-the process of humanization-is not another deposit to be made in men. Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it.

Those truly committed to liberation must reject the banking concept in its entirety, adopting instead a concept of women and men as conscious beings, and consciousness as consciousness intent upon the world. They must abandon the educational goal of deposit-making and replace it with the posing of the problems of human beings in their relations with the world. “Problem-posing” education, responding to the essence of consciousness –intentionality — rejects communiques and embodies communication. It epitomizes the special characteristic of consciousness: being conscious of, not only as intent on objects but as turned in upon itself in a Jasperian split” –consciousness as consciousness of consciousness.

They must abandon the educational goal of deposit-making and replace it with the posing of the problems of human beings in their relations with the world.

Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferals of information. It is a learning situation in which the cognizable object (far from being the end of the cognitive act) intermediates the cognitive actors — teacher on the one hand and students on the other. Accordingly, the practice of problem-posing education entails at the outset that the teacher-student contradiction to be resolved. Dialogical relations — indispensable to the capacity of cognitive actors to cooperate in perceiving the same cognizable object –are otherwise impossible.

Indeed problem-posing education, which breaks with the vertical characteristic of banking education, can fulfill its function of freedom only if it can overcome the above contradiction. Through dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist and a new term emerges: teacher-student with students-teachers. The teacher is no longer merely the-one-who-teaches, but one who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach. They become jointly responsible for a process in which all grow. In this process, arguments based on “authority” are no longer valid; in order to function authority must be on the side of freedom, not against it. Here, no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught. People teach each other, mediated by the world, by the cognizable objects which in banking education are “owned” by the teacher.

The banking concept (with its tendency to dichotomize everything) distinguishes two stages in the action of the educator. During the first he cognizes a cognizable object while he prepares his lessons in his study or his laboratory; during the second, he expounds to his students about that object. The students are not called upon to know, but to memorize the contents narrated by the teacher. Nor do the students practice any act of cognition, since the object towards which that act should be directed is the property of the teacher rather than a medium evoking the critical reflection of both teacher and students. Hence in the name of the “preservation of and knowledge” we have a system which achieves neither true knowledge nor true culture.

The problem-posing method does not dichotomize the activity of teacher-student: she is not “cognitive” at one point and “narrative” at another. She is always “cognitive,” whether preparing a project or engaging in dialogue with the students. He does not regard objects as his private property, but as the object of reflection by himself and his students. In this way, the problem-posing educator constantly re-forms his reflections in the reflection of the students.

The students — no longer docile listeners — are now–critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher.

The students — no longer docile listeners — are now–critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher. The teacher presents the material to the students for their consideration, and re-considers her earlier considerations as the students express their own. The role of the problem-posing educator is to create, together with the students, the conditions under which knowledge at the level of the doxa is superseded by true knowledge at the level of the logos. Whereas banking education anesthetizes and inhibits creative power, problem-posing education involves a constant unveiling of reality. The former attempts to maintain the submersion of consciousness; the latter strives for the emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality.

Students, as they are increasingly posed with problems relating to themselves in the world and with the world, will feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to that challenge. Because they apprehend the challenge as interrelated to other problems within a total context not as a theoretical question, the resulting comprehension tends to be increasingly critical and thus constantly less alienated. Their response to the challenge evokes new challenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually the students come to regard themselves as committed.

Education as the practice of freedom — as opposed to education as the practice of domination — denies that man is abstract, isolated, independent and unattached to the world; it also denies that the world exists as a reality apart from people. Authentic reflection considers neither abstract man nor the world without people, but people in their relations with the world. In these relations consciousness and world are simultaneous: consciousness neither precedes the world nor follows it.

[Footnote #8: Sartre, op. cit., p. 32.]

In one of our culture circles in Chile, the group was discussing (based on a codification) the anthropological concept of culture. In the midst of the discussion, a peasant who by banking standards was completely ignorant said: “Now I see that without man there is no world.” When the educator responded: “Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that all the men on earth were to die, but that the earth remained, together with trees, birds, animals, rivers, seas, the stars. . . wouldn’t all this be a world?” “Oh no,” the peasant replied . “There would be no one to say: ‘This is a world’.”

The peasant wished to express the idea that there would be lacking the consciousness of the world which necessarily implies the world of consciousness. I cannot exist without a non-I. In turn, the not-I depends on that existence. The world which brings consciousness into existence becomes the world of that consciousness. Hence, the previously cited affirmation of Sartre: “La conscience et le monde sont dormes d’un meme coup.”

As women and men, simultaneously reflecting on themselves and world, increase the scope of their perception, they begin to direct their observations towards previously inconspicuous phenomena:

In perception properly so-called, as an explicit awareness [Gewahren], I am turned towards the object, to the paper, for instance. I apprehend it as being this here and now. The apprehension is a singling out, every object having a background in experience. Around and about the paper lie books, pencils, inkwell and so forth, and these in a certain sense are also “perceived,” perceptually there, in the “field of intuition”; but whilst I was turned towards the paper there was no turning in their direction, nor any apprehending of them, not even in a secondary sense. They appeared and yet were not singled out, were posited on their own account. Every perception of a thing has such a zone of background intuitions or background awareness, if “intuiting” already includes the state of being turned towards, and this also is a “conscious experience”, or more briefly a “consciousness of” all indeed that in point of fact lies in the co-perceived objective background. (10)

[Footnote #10: Edmund Husserl, Ideas-General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology (London, 1969), pp. 105-106.]

That which had existed objectively but had not been perceived in its deeper implications (if indeed it was perceived at all) begins to “stand out,” assuming the character of a problem and therefore of challenge. Thus, men and women begin to single out elements from their “background awareness” and to reflect upon them. These elements are now objects of their consideration, and, as such, objects of their action and cognition.

In problem-posing education, people develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves; they come to see the world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process, in transformation. Although the dialectical relations of women and men with the world exist independently of how these relations are perceived (or whether or not they are perceived at all), it is also true that the form of action they adopt is to a large extent a function of how they perceive themselves in the world. Hence, the teacher-student and the students-teachers reflect simultaneously on themselves and the world without dichotomizing this reflection from action, and thus establish an authentic form of thought and action.

Once again, the two educational concepts and practices under analysis come into conflict. Banking education (for obvious reasons) attempts, by mythicizing reality, to conceal certain facts which explain the way human beings exist in the world; problem-posing education sets itself the task of demythologizing. Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the act of cognition which unveils reality. Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem-posing education makes them critical thinkers.

Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates (although it cannot completely destroy) the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world, thereby denying people their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human. Problem-posing education bases itself on creativity and stimulates true reflection and action upon reality, thereby responding to the vocation of persons as beings only when engaged in inquiry and creative transformation. In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men and women as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take the people’s historicity as their starting point.

In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men and women as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take the people’s historicity as their starting point.

Problem-posing education affirms men and women as beings the process of becoming — as unfinished, uncompleted beings in and with a likewise unfinished reality. Indeed, in contrast to other animals who are unfinished, but not historical, people know themselves to be unfinished; they are aware of their incompletion. In this incompletion and this awareness lie the very roots of education as an human manifestation. The unfinished character of human beings and the transformational character of reality necessitate that education be an ongoing activity.

Education is thus constantly remade in the praxis. In order to be, it must become. Its “duration” (in the Bergsonian meaning of the word) is found in the interplay of the opposites permanence and change. The banking method emphasizes permanence and becomes problem-posing education — which accepts neither a “well-behaved” present nor a predetermined future — roots itself in the dynamic present and becomes revolutionary.

Problem-posing education is revolutionary futurity. Hence it is prophetic (and as such, hopeful). Hence, it corresponds to the historical nature of humankind. Hence, it affirms women and men as who transcend themselves, who move forward and look ahead, for whom immobility represents a fatal threat for whom looking at the past must only be a means of understanding more clearly what and who they are so that they can more wisely build the future. Hence, it identifies with the movement which engages people as beings aware of their incompletion — an historical movement which has its point of departure, its Subjects and its objective.

Problem-posing education is revolutionary futurity.

The point of departure of the movement lies in the people themselves. But since people do not exist apart from the world, apart from reality, the movement must begin with the human-world relationship. Accordingly, the point of departure must always be with men and women in the “here and now,” which constitutes the situation within which they are submerged, from which they emerge, and in which they intervene. Only by starting from this situation — which determines their perception of it — can they begin to move. To do this authentically they must perceive their state not as fated and unalterable, but merely as limiting – and therefore challenging.

Whereas the banking method directly or indirectly reinforces men’s fatalistic perception of their situation, the problem-posing method presents this very situation to them as a problem. As the situation becomes the object of their cognition, the naive or magical perception which produced their fatalism gives way to perception which is able to perceive itself even as it perceives reality, and can thus be critically objective about that reality.

A deepened consciousness of their situation leads people to apprehend that situation as an historical reality susceptible of transformation. Resignation gives way to the drive for transformation and inquiry, over which men feel themselves to be in control. If people, as historical beings necessarily engaged with other people in a movement of inquiry, did not control that movement, it would be (and is) a violation of their humanity. Any situation in which some individuals prevent others from engaging in the process of inquiry is one of violence. The means used are not important; to alienate human beings from their own decision-making is to change them into objects.

This movement of inquiry must be directed towards humanization — the people’s historical vocation. The pursuit of full humanity, however, cannot be carried out in isolation or individualism, but only in fellowship and solidarity; therefore it cannot unfold in the antagonistic relations between oppressors and oppressed. No one can be authentically human while he prevents others from being so. Attempting to be more human, individualistically, leads to having more, egotistically, a form of dehumanization. Not that it is not fundamental to have in order to be human. Precisely because it is necessary, some men’s having must not be allowed to constitute an obstacle to others’ having, must not consolidate the power of the former to crush the latter.

Attempting to be more human, individualistically, leads to having more, egotistically, a form of dehumanization.

Problem-posing education, as a humanist and liberating praxis, posits as fundamental that the people subjected to domination must fight for their emancipation. To that end, it enables teachers and students to become Subjects of the educational process by overcoming authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism; it also enables people to overcome their false perception of reality. The world — no longer something to be described with deceptive words — becomes the object of that transforming action by men and women which results in their humanization.

Problem-posing education does not and cannot serve the interests of the oppressor. No oppressive order could permit the oppressed to begin to question: Why? While only a revolutionary society can carry out this education in systematic terms, the revolutionary leaders need not take full power before they can employ the method. In the revolutionary process, the leaders cannot utilize the banking method as an interim measure, justified on grounds of expediency, with intention of later behaving in a genuinely revolutionary fashion. They must be revolutionary — that is to say, dialogical — from the outset.

The Pedagogy Of The Oppressed Freire full text

“Let’s get out our [independent/book club/whole class] books and open to page __!”

At least one student in the room experiences a shudder of disdain and a wave of despondency each time such words are uttered (many more students are likely experiencing this emotional response to the dread of reading on the inside).

Why Do Students Hate Reading?

Some students are revolted by the prospect of reading. Several common findings show up from teachers’ reports:

• They haven’t found a book, author, or genre yet that they like, and they don’t know where to begin
• They would prefer to occupy their time with different forms of media or more kinesthetic activities
• They find reading boring — not long after they start reading, they lose track of their place, get annoyed by having to reread difficult passages, or tune out when the author goes on and on about seemingly insignifcant details
• They have been ‘forced’ to read books in middle school that they didn’t enjoy, either because the books were neither interesting, relevant, nor accessible
• Their grades in ELA are somewhat dependent on scores from AR (accelerated reader) tests/quizzes, the questions of which mainly prompt students to recall basic information about the plot

See also What Are The Best Novels In Verse For Middle & High School Readers?

Here’s the thing — all of these reasons are totally valid. It can be physically and mentally challenging to decode a text that may be full of difficult vocabulary, unfamiliar cultural references, background/historical knowledge, and more. It can be emotionally straining to tackle controversial or sensitive topics. Additionally, teachers who engage students in reading through whole-class novels alone (as opposed to including independent reading or smaller book club groups) risk isolating and turning off readers for the sake of what feels like efficiency. At some point between elementary school and high school, many students fall out of love with reading, an act that used to involve play and imagination and risk and creativity and fun. Add in multiple-choice exams and reading timelines and annotations, and the magic is understandably less apparent.

In What I Tell Students When They Say They Don’t Like to Read, Terry Heick shares with a hypothetical student: “If you say you ‘hate reading,’ that means you hate ideas and emotions. Feeling things. Exploring things. Achieving things. Next time you say you hate reading, say instead, ‘I hate feeling things,’ or ‘I hate stories and ideas written with words on pieces of paper that can help me achieve anything I’ve dreamed and can help me dream if I haven’t.’”

Such a statement might warrant a good chuckle to a student who is struggling with reading. As educators, sharing one’s own challenges with reading — as a child, teen, and adult — can help reluctant readers feel like they’re less alone and reduce the pressure to appear like they’re engaged in a book they can’t stand. What comes next? An awesome book to reignite enjoyment in reading. Here’s where we can help.

We’ve compiled a list of 33 of the best books for students who don’t like to read. How did these books make it onto our list?

• The books are often told by multiple narrators
• The books are written by diverse authors
• The books are written in different forms
• The books are accessible for readers of all levels
• The books touch on topics that are relevant to students’ lives today
• The books touch on topics that adults often try to shield teens from reading (even though teens are experiencing them vicariously or in real life)

See Also 12 Reasons Students Don’t Read And What You Can Do About It

Upon finishing these books, students are likely to ask an ELA teacher’s five favorite words, “What should I read next?” The great thing about these books is that many of them are part of a series, many are written by authors who have since published additional books, and many can act as a bridge to a new genre (like historical fiction, mystery, poetry, or memoir). The more a student can find and read books that are enjoyable and meaningful, the more confident they will become in identifying books they think they will like.

We hope these books are catalysts for your students and for teachers, who might benefit from venturing outside of the traditional canon and experimenting with new ways of fostering a love of reading in their classes.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more about our policy here.

The Best Books for Students Who Don’t Like to Read

by Terry Heick

Quality—you know what it is, yet you don’t know what it is. But that’s self-contradictory. But some things are better than others, that is, they have more quality. But when you try to say what the quality is, apart from the things that have it, it all goes poof! There’s nothing to talk about. But if you can’t say what Quality is, how do you know what it is, or how do you know that it even exists? If no one knows what it is, then for all practical purposes it doesn’t exist at all. But for all practical purposes, it really does exist.

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, author Robert Pirsig talks about the evasive idea of quality. This concept—and the tangent “Church of Reason”–heckles him throughout the book, notably as a teacher when he’s trying to explain to his students what quality writing looks like.

After some struggling– internally and with students–he throws out letter grades altogether in hopes that students will stop looking for the reward, and start looking for ‘quality.’ This, of course, doesn’t turn out the way he hoped it’d might; the students revolt, which only takes him further from his goal.

So what does quality have to do with learning? Quite a bit, it turns out.

A Shared Sense Of What’s Possible

Quality is an abstraction–it has something to do with the tension between a thing and an ideal thing. A carrot and an ideal carrot. A speech and an ideal speech. The way you want the lesson to go, and the way it actually goes. We have a lot of synonyms for this idea, ‘good’ being one of the more common.

For quality to exist–for something to be ‘good’–there has to be some shared sense of what’s possible, and some tendency for variation–inconsistency. For example, if we think there’s no hope for something to be better, it’s useless to call it bad or good. It is what it is. We rarely call walking good or bad. We just walk. Singing, on the other hand, can definitely be good or bad–that is have or lack quality. We know this because we’ve heard good singing before, and we know what’s possible.

Further, it’s difficult for there to be a quality sunrise or a quality drop of water because most sunrises and most drops of water are very similar. On the other hand, a ‘quality’ cheeseburger or performance of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony makes more sense because we A) have had a good cheeseburger before and know what’s possible, and B) can experience a vast difference between one cheeseburger and another.

Back to learning–if students could see quality—identify it, analyze it, understand its characteristics, and so on—imagine what that requires. They have to see all the way around a thing, compare it to what’s possible, and make an evaluation. Much of the friction between teachers and learners comes from a kind of scraping between students and the teachers trying to guide them towards quality.

The teachers, of course, are only trying to help students understand what quality is. We describe it, create rubrics for it, point it out, model it, and sing its praises, but more often than not, they don’t see it and we push it closer and closer to their noses and wait for the light to come on.

And when it doesn’t, we assume they either don’t care, or aren’t trying hard enough.

The Best

And so it goes with relative superlatives—good, better, and best. Students use these words without knowing their starting point–quality. It’s hard to know what quality is until they can think their way around a thing to begin with. And then further, to really internalize things, they have to see their quality. Quality for them based on what they see as possible.

To qualify something as good—or ‘best’—requires first that we can agree what that ‘thing’ is supposed to do, and then can discuss that thing in its native context. Consider something simple, like a lawnmower. It’s easy to determine the quality of a lawnmower because it’s clear what it’s supposed to do. It’s a tool that has some degrees of performance, but it’s mostly like an on/off switch. It either works or it doesn’t.

Other things, like government, art, technology, etc., are more complex. It’s not clear what quality looks like in legislation, abstract painting, or economic leadership. There is both nuance and subjectivity in these things that make evaluating quality far more complex. In these cases, students have to think ‘macro enough’ to see the ideal functions of a thing, and then decide if they’re working, which of course is impossible because no one can agree with which functions are ‘ideal’ and we’re right back at zero again. Like a circle.

Quality In Student Thinking

And so it goes with teaching and learning. There isn’t a clear and socially agreed-upon cause-effect relationship between teaching and the world. Quality teaching will yield quality learning that does this. It’s the same with the students themselves–in writing, in reading, and in thought, what does quality look like?

What causes it?

What are its characteristics?

And most importantly, what can we do to not only help students see it but develop eyes for it that refuse to close.

To be able to see the circles in everything, from their own sense of ethics to the way they structure paragraphs, design a project, study for exams, or solve problems in their own lives–and do so without using adultisms and external labels like ‘good job,’ and ‘excellent,’ and ‘A+’ and ‘you’re so smart!’

What can we do to nurture students that are willing to sit and dwell with the tension between possibility and reality, bending it all to their will moment by moment with affection and understanding?

contributed by Beth Rush, Managing Edition at Body + Mind

The image of your 5-year-old sitting serenely on a yoga mat might calm your mind if you’re a harried parent, but does meditation benefit this age group?

What can teachers and parents expect, and how can schools reap the perks of teaching this practice at an early age? 

Multiple studies confirm the power of meditation to help people cope with daily stressors and even affect physical disease progression. Does it work for all age groups? Is teaching children this healing practice without risks, and if they exist, do the benefits outweigh them, and can people overcome them?

See also Meditation Apps For Children

The Role of Meditation in Early Education

Every teacher knows that behavioral issues interfere with education. You can’t teach anything, no matter how fascinating or important, if the pupils you hope to instruct are running around the classroom, engaging in bullying behaviors, or wallowing in anxiety or stress—anything but mindfully tuning into the lesson. 

Teaching children to meditate when young can transform a classroom. It cultivates self-awareness and emotional intelligence in children. Best of all, it does so in a safe and nonpunishing manner. No adult sternly delivers lectures — meditation allows space for realization to arise from the inside. 

Children can explore how their behaviors impact others and themselves when freed from the need to react defensively. They come to see how their actions create unintended consequences. Meditation allows space for mentally working through how they can do things differently. It does so while easing the tension and biological storm children experience as acutely as adults, even if they don’t understand their ‘big feelings.’

The Benefits of Teaching Meditation in Schools 

Existing research and experts largely agree that teaching meditation to children delivers the following benefits. 

1. Stress Reduction

Children can get every bit as stressed as adults. They’re also very perceptive and can overhear snippets of adult conversation that spur panic — and their fears aren’t always unjustified. For example, it may be true that the family could lose their home if a parent misses more work. Imagine the sheer terror a 5-year-old feels upon hearing their parents arguing about such matters late at night. 

Worse, parents in stressful situations often lack the emotional energy to guide their children through managing these feelings — they’re juggling a triage situation. Kids arrive at school in a panicked state, unable to focus. However, according to Kim Feeny, LSIW,a Play Therapist at Butterfly Beginnings Counseling, teaching children to meditate on a simple mantra calms their minds and bodies, reducing stress levels. Doing so allows them to learn.

Erika Sandstrom, a Digital Learning Coach and Digital Media Teacher in Massachusetts, says, “In my experience, having students create their personalized breathing bubbles in Canva has been a game-changer. Adding a personalized touch to mindfulness practices enhances engagement and ownership. Its straightforward integration provides a seamless way to infuse moments of stress with opportunities for self-regulation.”

2. Improved Focus and Concentration

According to a research study conducted in 2021 at Asia University, meditation improves elementary school students’ ability to concentrate on subject matter for longer periods. 

Researchers measured participants across five measures of attention:

• Focused attention or the ability to continue prolonged activity 
• Selective attention or maintaining attention despite distractions 
• Alternating attention or switching between activities
• Divided attention or multitasking

Tests confirmed improved attention in students who meditated for 10 to 15 minutes daily for 12 weeks, particularly in focused and selective attention. Over 50% of study participants reported focusing better in school, 29.1 improved their sleep ability, and a few mentioned stress reduction and decreased physical pain. 

3. Emotional Regulation

Emotional regulation refers to a child’s ability to control their feelings. They can recognize their emotions and manage them appropriately so that they don’t cause unnecessary harm to others or interfere with the learning process.

“Meditation teaches children to be aware of their emotions without being overwhelmed. This can help them navigate and regulate emotions more effectively, improving emotional intelligence,” says Feeney.

4. Enhanced Self-Awareness

Self-awareness entails understanding how others perceive you and how your actions affect others. Children with poor self-awareness often misbehave, not out of a deliberate intent to be cruel or mischievous but because they don’t understand how their behaviors impact the classroom environment or why they should care. 

5. Increased Empathy and Compassion 

Meditation creates space for children to recognize that everyone else experiences the same emotions. Understanding the shared nature of the human experience drives home the meaning of the Golden Rule — children grasp why they should treat others as they want to be treated. 

6. Improved Behavior and Self-Control 

Children often behave impulsively. According to Feeny, meditation promotes impulse control by teaching children to respond thoughtfully to challenging situations instead of mindlessly reacting. 

Meditation also improves sleep, which is crucial for a child’s physical and neurological development. It also teaches kids a healthy coping mechanism they can use throughout life to manage stressful situations and stay centered amid challenging circumstances. 

Are There Any Negatives to Teaching Children to Meditate?

While meditation has impressive benefits for children, there are potential downsides that parents, teachers and schools should remain mindful of when implementing such practices. 

Meditation and Developing Emotional Awareness: the Risk of Retraumatization 

A significant risk of simply telling children ‘go meditate’ is that it can feel a lot like invalidation, dismissiveness or being asked to stuff feelings down without honoring what they are and what they mean. When not properly taught, meditation can feel like a ‘time out,’ potentially retraumatizing a child, especially if lessons like “children should be seen and not heard” are frequently reinforced at home with physical or verbal abuse. 

Remember, children aren’t born understanding their feelings. Therefore, schools should pair emotional education with meditation training. They must convey several things:

• Emotions are a natural part of being human, and simply having them isn’t wrong or bad.
• Your feelings are a part of you, but they are not you any more than your left leg or right eye is you.  
• How you choose to express and act on your feelings matters. 
• You ultimately control how you express and act on your emotions, and meditation is a tool to help you decide how to do so best. 
• You can sit quietly with your feelings without reacting to them. 

While some experts question whether the school is responsible for teaching emotional regulation skills, little learning occurs without them. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to take classroom time to teach about emotions and how to manage them. This could be especially crucial to children who are neurodivergent and already struggle with normal human interaction, who might otherwise lack proper role models to teach them how to get along with others. 

Religious Objections and Secular Use 

Meditation is integral to many Eastern religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Some parents object to meditation in schools because of this association, and out of concern, the practice may conflict with their religious beliefs. 

However, meditation can be entirely secular. Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered the Western advance into mindfulness-based stress reduction or MSBR. This non-sectarian approach melds with any faith-based tradition or none at all. It’s equally inclusive to devout fundamentalists and atheists alike. Teaching children to meditate is, in reality, the opposite of indoctrination — it gives them practice in how to think for themselves. 

Case Studies: Meditation in School, Methods and Results 

What does it look like when schools teach children to meditate? The folks at Robert W. Coleman Elementary School rave about the results they receive from replacing traditional detention with meditation. The school did not have a single suspension during 2022 and 2023. The effects don’t stop at the elementary level. Nearby Patterson Park High School, which also uses the program, saw suspension rates drop and attendance increase, benefiting learning. 

How Should Schools Teach Meditation to Children? 

Robert W. Coleman Elementary School is a model for teaching meditation in schools. It partnered with outside experts, the Holistic Life Foundation, to offer yoga and meditation as a positive after-school activity, not a punishment. It teaches skills on the mat and ties them into daily life. 

Children help clean up local parks, build gardens and visit farms as part of the experience. They also co-teach the yoga classes. They aren’t treated as problems to ‘manage’ or even blank slates to fill but as active learning partners. 

The Magic of Teaching Meditation From Young Ages 

Although some controversy lingers about teaching meditation in schools, institutions that have implemented such programs have experienced impressive results. Teaching this valuable life skill creates a positive classroom environment for true learning. It does so in a gentle, non-threatening manner to which most children respond well. 

Teaching children to meditate does more than improve their classroom behavior. It imparts a valuable life skill to help kids manage life effectively after graduation.

50 Of The Best Quotes About Reading

by TeachThought Staff

Literacy—the ability to read and write—is the foundation of formal, academic learning.

But beyond reading and writing skills, literacy is a gateway to critical thinking, effective communication, and holistic learning experiences. Literacy is crucial to any learning environment, from promoting comprehension to nurturing empathy and cultural understanding both inside the classroom and beyond.

Below are dozens of quotes–hopefully inspirational quotes–about reading. You can also read best quotes about knowledge, quotes about critical thinking, quotes about life, quotes about teaching, and quotes about learning.

50 Quotes About Reading

“Reading is the beginning of wisdom.” –Albert Einstein

“No man ever achieved tremendous success without learning — or, it should be added, without being forced to read his way out of a paper bag.” –Norman Borlaug

“So much is to be learned in a day, that reading will never again make an excellent man so learned as he was yesterday.” ~Olinga Rea

“Among problems that can arise from the lack of reading, one of the most significant is the epidemic of illiteracy. This fact, taken with the other problems mentioned in this topic, has significance for the reduction of private and public spending for schools.”

Literacy is the commonwealth, distinguished by strict compliance with general and reasonable societal standards.” –Anne Frank

“Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” – Mary Schmich

“The world belongs to those who read.” – Rick Holland

“We read to know we are not alone.” – C.S. Lewis

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” – Harper Lee

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges

“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” – Mason Cooley

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Cicero

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” – Mortimer J. Adler

“Reading is a conversation. All books talk. But a good book listens as well.” – Mark Haddon

“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.” – René Descartes

“Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.” – Carlos Ruiz Zafón

“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” – W. Somerset Maugham

“The only important thing in a book is the meaning that it has for you.” – W. Somerset Maugham

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.” – Barbara W. Tuchman

“Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” – Edmund Burke

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” – Oscar Wilde

“No two persons ever read the same book.” – Edmund Wilson

“A book is a dream that you hold in your hands.” – Neil Gaiman

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” – C.S. Lewis

“The best advice I ever got was that knowledge is power and to keep reading.” – David Bailey

“I owe everything I am and everything I will ever be to books.” – Gary Paulsen

“My alma mater was books, a good library… I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” – Malcolm X

“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.” – Mortimer J. Adler

“Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.” – Ben Okri

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” – Charles W. Eliot

“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.” – Jane Smiley

“Books and doors are the same thing. You open them, and you go through into another world.” – Jeanette Winterson

“Keep reading. It’s one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have.” – Lloyd Alexander

“The library is inhabited by spirits that come out of the pages at night.” – Isabel Allende

“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” – Desiderius Erasmus

“Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.” – Henry Ward Beecher

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” – Ernest Hemingway

“Read. Read anything. Read the things they say are good for you, and the things they claim are junk. You’ll find what you need to find. Just read.” – Neil Gaiman

“Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world.” – Voltaire

“Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.” – Joseph Addison

50 Inspirational Quotes About Reading

Embracing the Future of Social Work Through Online Education

by TeachThought Staff

The social work profession is on the cusp of a transformative era. Once viewed with skepticism, online education is rapidly becoming a powerful tool for expanding access to quality social work education and empowering the next generation of social workers.

Let’s look at how online learning bridges the gap for aspiring social workers, fosters practical application in the virtual classroom and paves the way for a future where social work education thrives in the digital landscape.

Bridging the Divide Through Online Learning

One of the most compelling advantages of online social work education is its ability to bridge the gap in accessibility. Traditional on-campus programs can be geographically restrictive and financially demanding. Online programs, like this master’s in social work advanced standing program, however, eliminate these barriers by offering flexible schedules and reduced costs. This is particularly beneficial for individuals with work and family commitments, those residing in remote locations, or those seeking a career change later in life.

Online learning platforms also cater to diverse learning styles. Asynchronous learning allows students to absorb information at their own pace, while synchronous sessions foster interactive discussions and real-time feedback. Additionally, online programs often offer a wider range of specializations, enabling students to tailor their education to specific areas of social work practice, such as child welfare, mental health, or gerontology. This focus on specialization empowers graduates to enter the workforce with a more targeted skillset.

Furthermore, online education presents a unique opportunity to address the growing social work workforce shortage. By removing geographical limitations, online programs can attract a wider pool of qualified students, ultimately contributing to a more robust social service infrastructure.

What Is Online Education?

Online education, often called eLearning, delivers educational content and instruction online. It enables learners to access courses, lectures, and study materials remotely, utilizing platforms like edX, Coursera, or LinkedIn Learning.

This approach offers flexibility and convenience, allowing students to learn at their own pace and from any location with an internet connection, using devices such as computers, tablets, or smartphones. Online education leverages various digital tools and resources, including interactive modules, video lectures, and online discussion forums, to enhance the learning experience.

Furthermore, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are increasingly being integrated into online learning platforms to personalize learning paths and provide targeted feedback to students. As society embraces digital transformation, online education continues to evolve as a prominent and effective learning method in the modern era.

From Virtual Classroom to Real-World Application

A common concern regarding online social work education is the potential disconnect between theory and practice. However, innovative online programs effectively bridge this gap by integrating real-world applications into the curriculum.

One strategy is the use of online simulations. These immersive experiences allow students to navigate challenging social work scenarios in a safe virtual environment. Students can practice crisis intervention, conduct client interviews, and test their communication skills, receiving immediate instructor feedback or automated assessment tools.

Online programs can also leverage the power of video conferencing technology to facilitate virtual field placements. This allows students to connect with social service agencies and remotely participate in casework activities under the supervision of qualified professionals. Additionally, online platforms can be used to curate curated databases of real-world case studies, providing students with exposure to diverse situations encountered by practicing social workers.

These innovative approaches ensure that online social work education equips graduates with the practical skills essential for success. Social workers navigate complex human interactions, and online learning can effectively prepare them for these challenges.

Digital Learning Curve

The transition from on-campus to virtual learning requires adjustment for students and educators. Students must develop self-discipline and time management skills to navigate the asynchronous nature of online courses. Fostering a sense of community within a virtual classroom requires proactive participation in discussion forums and online collaboration tools.

The shift to online instruction necessitates focusing on developing engaging and interactive content for educators. Multimedia resources such as video lectures, podcasts, and infographics can enhance the learning experience. Furthermore, instructors must create a welcoming online environment that promotes active student participation and facilitates meaningful interactions.

By embracing online learning tools and fostering a student-centered approach, educators can ensure that online social work education provides a comprehensive and enriching experience.

The Future of Online Social Work Education

The future of online social work education is brimming with potential. Advancements in virtual reality (VR) technology present exciting possibilities for immersive learning experiences. VR simulations can place students in realistic social work scenarios, allowing them to practice intervention techniques and decision-making skills in a safe, controlled virtual environment.

Online platforms can also be harnessed to foster interprofessional collaboration. Social workers often work alongside professionals from various disciplines, such as healthcare providers and legal professionals. Online degrees can incorporate collaborative projects and discussions involving students from different backgrounds, equipping future social workers with the skills to navigate interprofessional teams effectively.

The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into online learning platforms can offer valuable support. AI-powered chatbots can provide students with 24/7 access to basic information and resources, while offering personalized learning recommendations.

As online social work education evolves, focusing on ethical considerations is crucial. Ensuring data privacy, addressing potential biases in AI-powered tools and promoting responsible online communication will be key to maintaining the integrity of social work education in the digital landscape.

In conclusion, online education is not simply a convenient alternative to traditional social work programs. It is a powerful tool for expanding access, fostering practical application, and preparing social workers for the demands of the digital age. By embracing online learning and harnessing its potential, the social work profession can ensure a future where qualified professionals are empowered to address the evolving needs of communities across the globe.

Title: Embracing Statistics: A Pillar of Modern STEM Education

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), statistics is a pivotal discipline, transcending its traditional role as a mere supporting tool.

As we navigate the digital age, statistics has become a cornerstone in understanding and interpreting the vast data generated across various domains. Let’s quickly explore the profound implications of statistics’ ascent, its interdisciplinary nature, and the imperative of promoting statistical literacy in society.

Gone are the days when statistics languished in the shadow of mathematics, confined to probability and distribution functions. Instead, statistics now stands tall as its own field, equipped with sophisticated methodologies and powerful tools for extracting insights from complex datasets. From social sciences to natural sciences, statistics permeates every facet of inquiry, offering invaluable contributions to fields as diverse as economics, public health, environmental science, and beyond.

At the heart of statistics’ resurgence lies the proliferation of data in the digital era. With the advent of big data and the Internet of Things (IoT), we find ourselves amidst an unprecedented deluge of information. This abundance presents opportunities and challenges, as we grapple with extracting meaningful signals from the noise. However, with statistics as our guiding light, we can confidently navigate this data landscape, discerning patterns, trends, and correlations that elude the untrained eye.

Technological advancements have democratized access to statistical analysis, empowering individuals from all walks of life to engage in data-driven inquiry. User-friendly software packages such as R, Python, and SPSS have made statistical analysis more accessible than ever, enabling researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to harness the power of data in their work.

The most remarkable aspect of statistics might be its interdisciplinary nature. As a universal language, statistics bridges the gap between disparate fields of study, fostering collaboration and innovation. Whether economists analyze macroeconomic trends, epidemiologists track the spread of infectious diseases, or environmental scientists model climate change, statistics provides a common framework for inquiry, enabling researchers to pool their expertise and tackle complex problems.

Furthermore, statistical literacy has never been more critical in an age rife with misinformation and fake news. Understanding basic statistical concepts empowers individuals to evaluate claims critically, interrogate data presented in the media, and make informed decisions in their personal and professional lives. By promoting statistical literacy through education and outreach initiatives, we can equip the next generation with the tools to navigate the data-rich world with confidence and discernment.

Statistics is not merely a tool; it is a pillar of modern STEM education, empowering us to unlock the mysteries of the universe and address the grand challenges of our time. As we embrace statistics as a foundational discipline and promote interdisciplinary collaboration, we harness the power of data to drive innovation, inform policy, and shape a brighter future for all.

The Difference Between Constructivism And Constructionism

by Terry Heick

While working on the learning theory visual overview, I realized I couldn’t clearly explain the difference between constructivism and constructionism.

So I did a little research and initially didn’t find much to ease my confusion.

The Difference Between Constructivism And Constructionism

Constructivism is–more or less–the same thing. So what’s the difference between constructivism and constructivism?

Definition of Constructivism

Constructivism is an educational theory in which learners actively construct their own understanding and knowledge through experiences and reflection on those experiences. It emphasizes the importance of learners’ prior knowledge, social interactions, and contextual learning to build new understanding.

Definition of Constructionism

Constructionism extends constructivist ideas by emphasizing learning through creating tangible artifacts, such as models or projects. It promotes the idea that learners construct knowledge most effectively when they are actively involved in making something that is personally meaningful.

Edith Ackerman, a “Swiss-born American psychologist who explored the interactions between developmental psychology, play, learning and design. A graduate of the University of Geneva, she held permanent or visiting positions at several institutions in the United States and Europe, including the MIT Media Lab,” explained…

“What is the difference between Piaget’s constructivism and Papert’s “constructionism”? Beyond the mere play on the words, I think the distinction holds, and that integrating both views can enrich our understanding of how people learn and grow. Piaget’s constructivism offers a window into what children are interested in, and able to achieve, at different stages of their development. The theory describes how children’s ways of doing and thinking evolve, and under which circumstance children are more likely to let go of—or hold onto— their currently held views.

Papert is interested in how learners engage in a conversation with [their own or other people’s] artifacts…and how these conversations facilitate the construction of new knowledge.

Edith Ackerman, Psychologist

“Piaget suggests that children have very good reasons not to abandon their worldviews just because someone else, be it an expert, tells them they’re wrong. Papert’s constructionism, in contrast, focuses more on the art of learning, or ‘learning to learn’, and on the significance of making things in learning. Papert is interested in how learners engage in a conversation with [their own or other people’s] artifacts, and how these conversations boost self-directed learning, ultimately facilitating the construction of new knowledge. He stresses the importance of tools, media, and context in human development. Integrating both perspectives illuminates the processes by which individuals come to make sense of their experience, gradually optimizing their interactions with the world.”

You can read the full pdf here.

So What Is The Difference Between Constructivism And Constructionism?

Constructivism

Theory Key Idea: How people learn by constructing their understanding and knowledge of the world through experience and reflection.

Influential Theorists: Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky

Key Elements Of Constructivism

1. Active Learning: Learners actively participate in their learning process.

2. Knowledge Construction: Learning is about constructing knowledge rather than just absorbing information.

3. Prior Knowledge: Learners build new knowledge based on existing knowledge.

4. Social Interaction: Learning often involves social interactions and collaboration.

5. Contextual Learning: Learning is contextual and situational.

Constructionism

Theory Ley Idea: This approach extends constructivist ideas into learning by making, emphasizing the creation of tangible products or artifacts.

Influential Theorist: Seymour Papert

Key Elements of Constructionism

1. Learning by Making: Knowledge construction is most effective when learners are actively involved in making something tangible.

2. Project-Based Learning: Emphasis on projects that result in a tangible artifact or product.

3. Reflection and Iteration: Learners reflect on their creations and iterate on their designs.

4. Computational Thinking: Often involves integrating technology and computational tools.

5. Personal Relevance: Projects are driven by learners’ interests and personal relevance.

Summary

Constructivism: Focuses on the individual’s process of constructing knowledge through experiences and reflection.

Constructionism: Emphasizes learning by creating tangible artifacts, incorporating technology and personal interests.

Similarities Between Constructivism and Constructionism

Same: Active learning and the importance of prior knowledge

Examples Of Constructivism

Example 1: Learning in a Classroom

Scenario: A science class is learning about ecosystems.

Activity: The teacher sets up stations with various ecosystems (pond, forest, desert) and provides materials such as pictures, plant samples, and soil types.

Constructivist Approach: Students rotate through the stations, observe the materials, and discuss what they notice about each ecosystem in small groups. They then create a concept map showing how different ecosystem elements interact.

Outcome: Through active engagement and discussion, students construct an understanding of ecosystems by connecting new information with their prior knowledge.

Example 2: Child Learning

Scenario: A child is learning about fractions.

Activity: The child is given a set of fraction tiles and a recipe to be halved.

Constructivist Approach: The child uses the fraction tiles to visually and physically manipulate the parts of the recipe, experimenting with different combinations to understand how fractions work.

Outcome: Through hands-on experience, the child understands fractional relationships by actively engaging with the materials and applying fractions to a real-world scenario.

Examples of Constructionism

Example 1: Learning in a Classroom

Scenario: A middle school technology class is learning about coding.

Activity: The teacher assigns a project where students create their own video game using a programming platform like Scratch.

Constructionist Approach: Students brainstorm game ideas, write the code, design characters, and build the game. They test their games, get feedback from peers, and make revisions.

Outcome: Through creating a tangible product (a video game), students deepen their understanding of coding concepts, logic, and problem-solving.

Example 2: Child Learning about a science topic

Scenario: A child is interested in learning about electricity

Activity: The child is given a simple electronics kit with wires, a battery, and a light bulb.

Constructionist Approach: The child is asked to build a basic circuit, experimenting with different connections to see what makes the light bulb turn on. They might also try adding a switch or multiple bulbs.

Outcome: By constructing a working circuit, the child learns about the principles of electricity, circuits, and conductivity through hands-on creation and experimentation.