Learning Metaphors and MOOCs

The use of metaphors is an intriguing concept. Metaphors have the power to transform the way we think and the way we respond. As a part of our week 2 reading for Coursera's Elearning and Digital Cultures Course (#edcmooc), we were to reflect on the metaphors of the future in digital culture and in online education.

I recently read an article titled, "On two metaphors of learning and the dangers of choosing just one" by Anna Sfard. Anna shares that there are predominantly two metaphors that are used to describe learning: The Acquisition Metaphor (AM) and the Participation Metaphor (PM).

While the names are quite indicative of the type of learning process being highlighted, to clarify, AM describes the model that believes knowledge is a commodity that can be acquired and therefore applied. This ties in very well to all the cognitive theories of learning led by Pieget, Vygotsky etc.

PM indicates that learner participates in the process of learning instead of acquiring knowledge. So, learning is seen as a process of becoming a part of the 'whole. In this case, the 'whole' is the community in which the learner participates in.

While AM focuses on 'knowing', PM focuses on 'doing'. Perhaps, I am over simplifying the article, but I think these metaphors are a great way to look at the past and the future of all learning. While our past focused on AM, our future learning decisions are more PM. These metaphors resonated well with my own frameworks for learning design as I have seen them evolve over the last 14 years.

However, as the author correctly points out, you can't choose one over the other since all learning environments will have both the components - acquisition and participation. I believe that design for learning can begin with one metaphor as a core guiding principle.

In this context, for me, MOOCs fit well with the participation metaphor. The MOOC platform reflects a more democratic way of learning, open, scalable and where essentially the learner is a participant in the creation of knowledge. MOOCs allow for collaboration and social connections in the context of learning. However, I don’t deny that the ‘structure’ and ‘instruction’ in the acquisition metaphor is an essential component of the MOOC environment specially as a critical factor for success. But more about MOOCs in another thread.

You can read the complete article here:

http://www.colorado.edu/physics/phys4810/phys4810_fa08/4810_readings/Sfard.pdf This article is an extended version of an invited lecture given at the Eighth International Congress of Mathematics Education in Seville, Spain, in Iuly 1996.

Have you been MOOC-ed yet?

I recently enrolled for a MOOC course offered by Coursera called Elearning and Digital Cultures #edcmooc. While I have designed and developed several online training interventions for various organizations, this will be my first 'formal' learning experience as a student of an online course delivered using the MOOC platform. The course officially starts in 2 days. However, the flurry of activities has been going on for the last 2 months - google plus, facebook group, twitter, blog RSS feeds, spaces, Pinterest etc are just some of the many options that have been devised by the participants to connect and learn together. I am excited about the course and I am looking forward to broaden my learning horizons and bring back into my training design some of the best practices of online learning.

But for now, I am just thinking about all these platforms/groups/spaces. As I scroll through the messages on the Facebook group - one of the many options to connect, this is the word cloud that is generating before my eyes:

To me, this is a reflection of what Barry Schwartz calls 'the paradox of choice'. In his talk, Barry says," With so many options to choose from, people find it very difficult to choose at all".
I agree. 
For this particular MOOC course, participants are from all over the world (last information source said - over 260,000 sign-ups to date). This wide variety of audience has a varying degree of comfort and competency with respect to online learning and/or online collaboration tools/platforms. While some of us have been blogging, using twitter and google+, wikispaces for a while, for so many this will be their first experience of online learning and collaboration. Given that the course did not have any pre-requisite (though it did encourage participants to explore various social learning platforms), it is an overwhelming stage for the technologically and/or the socially-challenged. My advice to everyone faced with unlimited choice is to choose what is most comfortable for you. In this particular case, the facebook group is perhaps going to be the easiest to use for many. 

Having said that, participating in a MOOC course will probably help everyone explore other options that were previously out of their comfort zone. So, it is going to be learning before 'the' learning. And that is good. Perhaps some participants are feeling disillusioned and overwhelmed right now but this phase will pass. Consider the MOOC course to be a platform for learning and collaborating not only about the course content but also learning about learning itself. 

More on my experience with MOOC will come later. For now, I know I have been MOOC-ed! 

Why Should Managers Teach?

I recently read an article in CLO titled, "Those who manage teach." It is a powerful statement and I completely agree with it. I have always believed that managers are the first line of teachers. Also, whether you know it or don't - whether you want to or not, every manager is a teacher. 

While many managers focus on the project goals: time and cost, some managers do something more - they also teach consciously. In my view, that's the difference between a good manager and a great manager. I gratefully acknowledge the contribution of my supervisors who taught me instead of just managing me and I am happy to say there were many!

How are managers teachers? 
Well, to start off, managers are the first role models for any team member. A team member expects the manager to do what she says. If managers don't walk the talk, it is not correct to expect the same standards from the team. But that's just one aspect of being a good teacher. 
A manager works with her team on a daily basis. Learning opportunities are available in every meeting, every conversation and every project. So whether a manager realizes it or not, she is teaching in every interaction. To consciously teach, a manager has to plan for training and learning and take the responsibility for mentoring and coaching. 
However, in all this I realize that not all managers can be good teachers. And there is nothing wrong with that. But managers who are not good teachers still need to take the responsibility for team and individual learning and delegate this task to others who are more skilled in the area. But more importantly, after delegating, they must continue to take interest in their team's learning process.

Why should managers teach?

• Managers should teach so that they are able to share their insights, best practices, failures and experiences. These learning points are far useful towards greater productivity and efficiency of the team than any technical or functional skills. 
• Managers should teach to show their team that learning is work and work is learning. She needs to create opportunities for learning, should not be afraid to allow her team to make mistakes and should be genuinely interested in transferring knowledge and skills - and pack it all in everyday work.
• Managers should teach to develop a continuous learning culture and inspire and foster new ideas and innovation.
• Managers should teach to contribute to their own profession and help build better managers. Managers who teach are the best way to ensure that the profession is constantly recharged with fresh energy and a steady stream of budding managers is always on its way. 

As managers, we need to remember: when we teach, the greater learning is ours.