Today, I would like to talk about some essential elements to learning. I first observed these many years ago while teaching 5th grade students, but I believe they apply to all ages. The elements are participation, discovery, and progression.
Participation is the act of taking part or sharing in something. 参加，参与… Learning is not a spectator sport. It requires you to be involved. When people participate, people learn. What are some ways to participate?
We can listen. Listening is an important skill that needs to be developed. This morning you are listening to me. I hope you are listening to me. We have ears, but listening is more than hearing sound. It's receiving and processing sound into information in a way that it has meaning for us. Each sound becomes a word and the words combine to form statements or questions which communicate information. That information is processed with what we have learned previously to support previous ideas or bring them into question.
Listening is participating but we can increase your participation by asking someone a question. I could ask someone the question now, “What do I believe are three elements that are essential to learning?” If you don't remember, it would be ok to ask me to tell everyone again. I would say, “I believe three essential elements of learning are participation, discovery, and progression.” Because of the question, the idea would be heard again and reinforced.
You can also increase your participation for by taking notes. Notetaking can help you to focus, help your writing skills, and improve your memory.
You can participate by telling someone what you heard. “Mike said that three essential elements of learning are participation, discovery, and progression.” Go ahead. Turn to someone and tell them what I said.
If we had time, we could get into small groups and brain storm the topic of the essentials of learning. After some time, we could one have one group discuss their findings with another group. After that, perhaps someone would be willing to make a report to the entire audience. Sharing and discussion would stimulate our thinking.
Other means of participation could include a practice our spoken languages skills with interpretation and our written language skills with translation. We could look for quotations, idioms, songs, and poems related to how people learn and given enough time we could even create our own.
To students I say, “Participate.”
To myself and fellow teachers I say, “Let's provide students with a variety of opportunities to participate and they will learn and their listening, speaking, reading, writing, translating and interpreting skills will improve.
Discovery is the act of discovering. It’s finding out, turning up, or uncovering something. （尤指第一次）发现（资讯，地方或物件）的过程, 被发现的事… It's seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, or smelling something for the first time or in a new way. It's the “aha” experience when the solution to a problem becomes clear. It’s the “light bulb moment” characterized in cartoon images at the moment of sudden inspiration, revelation, or recognition.
When people discover, people learn.
To students, I say, “Look with a fresh eye; listen for something new in all the noise; touch something old, something new, something you are familiar with and something you are afraid of; taste literally and figuratively to find out if something is good; smell the fresh mountain air and an old book and enjoy them both.
To myself and fellow teachers I say, let's provide students with opportunities to discover and they will learn and remember as they experience the joy, happiness, excitement, and thrill that comes with at the moment of discovery. There are no sweeter words to the teacher than that of the student when they say, “I understand,” “I get it,” “It makes sense now.”
Progression is the act of changing to the next stage of development. It’s building, making progress, and advancing. 进展, 发展,…. It's growing, developing, maturing, and broadening. We learn something new and add it to what we already know. We take what we know and make new applications and test and evaluate to see if it's true. Learning is about progression. Some people exercise their body by running in place or riding a stationary bicycle, but learning is different. It's like running through the country side, feeling the brisk air on your skin and the impact of each stride, hearing the many sounds around you, smelling the fragrances you encounter, and during a moment of rest tasting the refreshment of a cool drink. Learning is like running toward the destination ahead while experiencing countless discoveries along the way.
To students I say, “Take what you have learned and learn more.”
To myself and fellow teachers I say, “Let’s build progression into our lesson plans and they will learn.
Let’s take them from that first moment of class to the last moment in a way that is interesting and intriguing.
I've given you what I believe to be three essential elements to learning. Participation: People learn when they are active and involved. Discovery: People learn when they experience the thrill of that moment when something becomes clear. Progression: People learn when they make connections and build on what they have learned previously.
Learning is not about passing a test, national exam, or getting a degree. It is about developing vital tools for life, family, work, and citizenship. By knowing and incorporating the elements of participation, discovery, and progression into our lesson planning, teachers can help their students prepare for the challenges of the future.