Knowing vs. Doing

“I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” -Albert Einstein

As educators, we are very big on mastery objectives. We explore and examine Bloom's Taxonomy to find the perfect word that will effectively express our learning goals. Whenever we conceive an idea for a learning opportunity, we apply our Bloom's verb and put it into the form of a mastery objective. The mastery objective is essentially an answer to a 2-part question that we ask ourselves: What do we want the students to KNOW and be able to DO? It's always in that order - KNOW and be able to DO. My question is, what is more important - the knowing or the doing?



Now, it is my opinion that most educators and schools alike would argue for knowledge, since we are so focused on test scores. After all, standardized testing is the most important thing in education, right? I am sure you can sense a hint of sarcasm. These scores are reflective of one thing: recall. A student's ability to access and recall information that is in their bank of knowledge and effectively apply it to answer a question or compose a response dictates their success on a standardized test. The problem with this being the focus is that students become trained to remember, not think. Is a student's memory more important than their ability to think for themselves? In my opinion, independent thought is undervalued and oftentimes sacrificed for the sake of the curriculum, which presents ideas and information that we have assigned a certain level of importance and necessity to teach. While the curriculum contains learning opportunities that will ultimately lead students to success on standardized tests, does it have enough room for the student to have some input? Instead of telling students what they are going to learn everyday, why don't we ask them on occasion?

I truly believe that learning happens when the student is the primary stakeholder. They need to have the greatest level of investment, and this only happens when topics are appealing or of interest to them. Topics that they are passionate about and yearn to learn. William Butler Yeats said, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." As educators, I think that we should supply the students with a spark, but let the students light the fire. They will only light that fire if they have something burning within them; a passion to learn about something that matters to them. Thus, the best learning stems from student interest, because information sticks when it is important to them. We need to give students more opportunities to learn in a vehicle of their make and model with a GPS that is programmed for academic exploration and success. As teachers, we should serve as passengers, tuning the radio to learning that must be heard and sung along to, while also suggesting pit stops along the way to pick up necessary items needed for the trip.

The knowledge is important, but it will only last if the student finds the information to be important and meaningful. Thus, the doing holds more importance in my book. Doing allows students an opportunity to present their learning in a fashion fit for creative license and personal investment while also offering the most important means of learning anything: EXPERIENCE. Students will always remember the things that they DID in your class. They will remember dissecting something in science class or performing a play in English. These experiences stick. Why? They were a direct participant in the learning that took place, and it could not have happened without them being there, DOING it. You can't drive a vehicle unless you are in the driver's seat. This seat should always be reserved for the student, since they own the vehicle and will drive it for the rest of their lives, even after they have dropped you off.

As a school, I don't think that we are necessarily doing the students a disservice by applying the cognitive approach and focusing on knowledge as the key ingredient to student achievement and success, since it seems to be the same service that is provided at most schools across the country. We are not hurting them any worse than any other school. However, we are hurting them. America is falling behind in education. Our lack of emphasis on independent thought is impacting our abilities to produce new ideas and be the super innovators that we once were. We need to prepare students to be future leaders of a global community. The problems of the world are ever-changing, so the answers of today will not be the answers to problems of tomorrow. Students need to have access to information as reference material, but more importantly, they need to know how to think and reconstruct their thinking according to situations that have no current context in a current body of knowledge.

Knowledge is important, but only if it has application. If a student knows something, it doesn't mean that they can do it. Yet, if a student can show what they have learned by doing something, then the knowledge is evident. Thus, if they can do it, then they know it. They may not be able to describe or explain it with great eloquence, but the learning has taken place if they can show you.

I think it's important for educators to support, coach, and facilitate learning that is sparked by a standard but inflamed by the individual. We need to let the students take the wheel and have confidence that they will DO what they need to do in order to get where they need to go.

Knowledge is power. Experience is empowerment. Doing wins.