Live Short – Apprenticeship & Education – Knowing the Answers

I don’t think education is all about information; information is so easily accessible nowadays that education must offer something more. Just-in-time education works just as well as memorization when you’re out in the field.

In my opinion, education should be more about learning HOW to learn and how to find tools and resources. Education would be better if it focused on language and context rather than the actual information. For example, if I were to start talking to a kid about a vacuum pump, they’re not going to know what I’m talking about or care about what I’m talking about. However, if I were to show them how a vacuum pump works and how it can cause water to boil off, I can use that demonstration as context to teach them about vacuum pumps. (It also gets them interested in a topic.)

We have to demonstrate ideas, get people excited, and use metaphors BEFORE providing information about a subject. It’s better to show people a topic in action BEFORE you give them the information or answers to problems.

Overall, we need to be more proactive in demonstrating a theory before teaching it. I think schools have that process backward, and I’d rather provide context (the “why”) before I explain the actual concept or procedure (the “what”).