Deciding which learning alternative is for you
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007For decades now, each and every day of school has been boring, rote and repetitive. However, today the traditional school day has been radically altered. This is because there are numerous, viable learning alternatives available today. In order to decide which is best for you, it is important to look at both the advantages and disadvantages of each of these learning alternatives.
Correspondence Courses
Traditionally, the lesson materials for a correspondence course would arrive via the postal mail. Once the work is completed the student returns the work and then awaits the arrival of the next lesson. This process would then continues until all of the required lessons have been completed. Herein the teacher can only be conducted via telephone, e-mail or written letter. For highly motivated, independent learners this works very well.
Field Trips
Field trips work well with both traditional education and independent studies. Herein a student visits a location outside of their school or home in order to learn about a specific topic or theme. These places can include manufacturing facilities, a park, museum, the Zoo, an aquarium, public services facilities like fire stations, TV or radio studios, hospitals or police stations. This is an effective learning strategy but a teacher or a guide must be available. It also needs to be understood that setting up these field trips to some places can be difficult or even impossible if a person is trying to learn things by themselves.
Independent Study
An independent study involves designing a project that you, as the student, will then complete by yourself through various means. This work can require that several intricately interacted facets be completed. These may include investigative research, writing, field trips, interviews, extensive reading or lectures. A final production must then be put together. This can be in the form of a presentation, paper or report that gives all of the details of your work and the knowledge that you have acquired.
Educational Television Course
Today most major metropolitan areas have at least one public broadcasting station that features educational programming. These programs are usually a part of a college or university’s accredited course of study. Students record these programs at home to watch and take notes on. They also study the broadcast material, which is an integral part of their learning. While this is an effective strategy for highly independent learners, it does not promote interpersonal contact between the teacher, if there is one, and the student.
Conclusion
We likely will never see a return to traditional learning as was illustrated above. But with the growing variety of learning alternatives, there certainly is something to suit almost everyone. So get out of your rut. Take a chance “ take a course and improve your mind and your life using one of the many learning alternatives available to you. If not, theres always a Ms Crabapple waiting.
