Many of today's students are the product of a consumer society and education is one of those products. The way we approach students and the tools we use to do it will influence their acquisition. It is important to reflect about some observations before starting the teaching path.
It is very important not to generalize about needs and likes of students as they are indeed all so different. It is equally important not to put students into cultural beehives. Generalizations are risky but here are some observations.
At the beginning, the common request is for "lots of hands-on" work. Experiential learning is the catch phrase of the day and indeed I do agree with Christopher Alexander of “The Pattern Language” that the best way to learn is by working with a skilled person. My experience over 29 years of teaching sustainability courses has been that most students are very willing to get into the dirt, the hands-on type stuff - for a while. Many of our young people lose interest very quickly and repetition does not find much attraction. Today's young people are used to constant stimulation and it is suggested that during a 1 & 1/2 hour session 3 different means of presentation should be used.
I'm afraid that you don't learn to grow food, how to chip weeds or milk a cow in a morning. It is repetition which will make the master. Skill comes from doing the same thing again and again. The outdoor, field type work is, to many students, something quite new. They are not used to higher temperatures, the sun or rain and sweat and using muscles for this type of activity. Many a student brilliant at swimming or football has crumbled with a hoe in his/her hand in under an hour. If we really believe that we need to walk and cycle more, if we suggest that local food is best ...we also need to understand that blisters, aching muscles and repetitive work is part of the deal.
I hear it and read it often "lectures are out" yet I actually believe that a large percentage of students quite like lectures. The classes do need to look different to 40 years ago where it was acceptable for one person to stand up in front reading a paper. A lecture needs to use multi media and to get closer to a performance than a lecture. The fact is that most of us don't have the time, skill or inclination to put together a PowerPoint of an Al Gore calibre.
Bill Mollison, surely a most engaging teacher, always told me that you should not teach something if you can't tell a joke, a yarn or an example. As he said, he did not need many teaching aids: he was “the audio visual". The best teaching seems to be the result of teaching from experience. I still love the total flexibility a slide presentation offers (but try to find a slide projector) so beamers are replacing this media form. I like the blackboard, flip chart or whatever is available, and I like to move between a number of different ones. What I want to put across is that lectures are not out. Indeed many students find a method of teaching where they may need to speak and get involved rather intimidating.
We need to accept that many of today's students are the product of a consumer society and education is one of those products. To turn education, and in particular environmental education, into a DIY product is a big challenge.
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