#9 - From consume to create; How can you get a pulse of your child's learning?

On request from some readers, we’re running a few hands-on playful learning camps in the weeks to come. If you have a child below the ages of 14 who enjoys building things with their hands then sign up here. - LINK

We’ll get back to you with more updates soon.

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Thrilled to be back writing this edition ourselves after a series of guest authors (more coming soon!)

Many of us have been exposed to different theories of learning, but perhaps the one that stands out the most is ‘Bloom’s Taxonomy’. A framework of learning that attempts to classify learning outcomes from simple to complex. The framework has evolved over time through a tumultuous journey full of praise, interpretations, misinterpretations, criticism, and more.

You can read more about it here - https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

What stands out to me the most is that instead of looking at it as a hierarchy, if we begin to look at each of the different pieces - it gives us an easy way to analyze, frame, and re-create activities.

To simplify this I’ll take the example of now hotly contested topic of teaching coding to kids. Proponents say that coding classes for kids build logical thinking and creativity and prepare them for the future. Opponents say the last thing we need is more coders - kids should have a fun childhood free of screen-time.

What if we were to take a more analytical approach to the world of coding or any other 21st-century skill classes for kids from the lens of Bloom’s taxonomy?

• When I grew up in school the focus of computer education was to teach you that “The CPU is the brain of the computer” and similar facts about computers. Teachers often needed you to write down these facts on paper and submit it. (even today) This kind of learning fell somewhere between remembering and understanding.

• Somewhere down the line, the focus around a decade ago shifted towards teaching kids “Computer skills” and this meant using word processors, presentation software, etc. Assessments here would often need students to make a presentation, or send an email. Here the learning of computers was somewhere between remembering, understanding, and applying.

• With the era of coding classes, there’s a visible change in what learning is being delivered. Many classes now teach students programming languages like Scratch where children learn not what computers do, but what they can do with computers. So you can see student projects in these classes require them to create something. They learn concepts like sequencing, loops, and go on to build interactive video games or apps. In this process, you can see students Remember, Understand, Apply, and Create.

  • (also, this is not new. Seymour Papert at MIT suggested leapfrogging into the future with coding for kids as much as 40 years ago. Link)

• The layers that are missing in many coding and other 21st-century skill education providers are that of critical analysis and evaluation. Can children bring learning from other spheres of their life, connect concepts from past learning, reflect on their own likes and dislikes, and build solutions for the real world?

If you are a parent, use this taxonomy, not as the ultimate guide to learning, but look at what your child is learning in any of their class/outside classes and see if they are moving from consumption of content to actively analysing, evaluating, and creating meaningful content themselves? That is when the child is not just learning but leapfrogging into the future.