Lawnmowers and Learning

The other day my lawnmower stopped running. I would restart it; it would run for a few seconds and then cut off. This was maddening! I was certain that there was some problem with fuel delivery, but decided to get expert advice - I went online. After a brief search, I found several forum postings of other frustrated mowers looking for the same solution and sharing their collective wisdom - and then, there it was. I needed a new spark plug. Imagine that! I even found a YouTube video showing how to replace the spark plug (a pretty simple process, but you never know who will need the tutorial). Voila! One spark plug later, I'm a happy man (until about an hour into the mowing). It seems like any time I have needed information, I have been able to find it online. Just the other day I needed whipped cream and didn't have time to run to the store to get some. I found the recipe online. (OK. So it only has three ingredients. I never claimed to be a great chef.) The point is that I rely on online resources to help me solve problems all of the time. Most of the time I'm trying to figure out a problem that I never would have anticipated. (Who would have thought that I would need to make whipped cream!)

What does this have to do with education? For years, we have been teaching students how to mow the lawn. (Here is the required knowledge and here are the applied skills that you need for a defined job, profession, or role in life.) However, change is happening at such an accelerated pace that we can no longer predict what jobs will exist in our students' futures or what their world will be like. Knowing how to mow the lawn may or may not be important in the future, but knowing how to define a problem, determine what information is needed, work in collaboration with others to gather the information, analyze the data, frame, and implement a solution - is and will be important. How often do we teach students how to tackle a problem, collaborate with their classmates, share what they know to benefit others, or use available resources? From what I can see, not often enough. Take a close look at your course content and your teaching. Are you spending most of your time teaching students how to mow the lawn or what to do when the mower no longer works?