Learning from a hole in the wall
Posted by Lee-Anne Ragan | Filed under Creativity & innovation, Human resources, Social Responsibility, Training & development, Travel
Check out the video below about the TED hole in the wall educational experiment (forward to 7:15 min). It’s the work of Dr. Sugata Mitra, of India.
His office butted up against a slum and one day he punched a hole in his wall and stuck a computer in it. A computer that faced out, into the slum.
Then he watched.
He learned a lot about self-organizing and alternative education …. from children.
- It took a 13 year old merely 8 minutes to teach himself how to browse the net
- He saw an 8 year old teach a 6 year old how to browse the web … despite not knowing English
- Non-English speaking kids found websites ….. to teach themselves the English alphabet
- Often younger children were found teaching older kids
Dr. Mitra watched the power of group learning, watching as kids would gather. One operated the computer with 3 advisers helping out, surrounded by 16 more advisers. Counter to popular thought where kinesthetic learning (learning by doing) is critical for learning a task that requires physical manipulation (e.g. touching a keyboard), the kids were learning as much by watching as by doing.
In the end Dr. Mitra found:
- Education can happen by self-organizing
- Lessons for learning & development specialists: learning doesn’t have to be and shouldn’t be top down
- Values are acquired. Doctrine & dogma are imposed.
- Lessons for learning & development specialists: values based learning is possible, in fact it’s critical. Think social responsibility and employee engagement.
- Lessons for learning & development specialists: values based learning is possible, in fact it’s critical. Think social responsibility and employee engagement.
- Children can self-organize
- Lessons for learning & development specialists: so can (and should) adult learners self-organize
- Lessons for learning & development specialists: so can (and should) adult learners self-organize
- Learning is a self-organizing system
- Lessons for learning & development specialists: adult learning is dynamic, evolving, complicated, often messy and always intriguing. Self-organizing helps with issues of access and inclusion.
Dr. Mitra’s final wrap up in the video below? “Educational technology & pedagogy that is digital, automatic, fault-tolerant, minimally invasive, connected and self-organized addresses remoteness, violence, & values.”
There’s a lot packed into that statement. Much to chew on and digest. I’m off to find a cookie to help with my digestion while I ruminate. And you?
Tags: alternative education, dr sugata mitra, education, hole in the wall, India, learning, Learning Theories, pedagogy, self-organizing, slums, Social Responsibility, Sugata Mitra, TED, values
August 29th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
really interesting, especially for a girl who live and works in cambodia! off to track down the video on ted. thanks for sharing!
August 30th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Hi Leigh
So glad it resonated with you. Looked at your blog and love this post about making your way in the world with purpose. You might be interested in a post I wrote that was inspired by a fantastic woman named Sam who I met online.
Thanks for commenting. Pls let me know what you think of the TED video if you’re so inclined.