Far too many people believe that learning happens because they studied. In fact, studying is just the process of teaching content to oneself. To tell a child to go home and “study” is, in essence, telling her to go home and teach the content to herself. She may sit down and try to commit to memory a list of formulas, or dates, or math facts or grammar rules but that still is not learning; it is memorization. Memorized facts are spilled onto a page the next day and when the test is graded, it appears that the teacher has TAUGHT and the student has LEARNED. However, if you evaluate the same content six weeks later without revisiting it, you will likely get a different result. This is one reason why midterms and final exams are often cumulative. Memorization does not equal learning. Rather, it is one of the building blocks toward the goal of learning.  True learning happens in experiences. This is one reason why you learned so much about immersive learning. Fully immersing students in the content requires much more planning than handouts and quizzes, but it is worth it in the long run. 

One year when our 2^nd grade Inclusion class was reading “Henry & Mudge Go Camping”, I knew that my PEC students had no frame of reference for camping, the equipment or all of the activities camping includes. We decided to let all of the 2^nd grade classes set up camping tents outside. We had a “pretend” campfire, ate samores and one of the teachers played the guitar when we sat around singing campfire songs.  By fully experiencing the activity, the students were more engaged and more interested in participating. The camping activity provided a framework for the literacy standards. But equally valuable was the feeling that they were fully functioning learners that are part of the whole group experience.

Another time, during a presidential election year, the gifted class was studying the electoral process and instead of casting votes for president, they decided to hold a reptile election. They wanted a school pet and had convinced the principal to purchase the pet if the reptile was elected properly. Every student in every class of the school registered to vote. Every class was given a certain amount of electoral votes based on the population of the homerooms. There were three candidates; a python, a turtle and an iguana, each with their own campaign manager. They scheduled debates. They made campaign posters. They distributed campaign chum. On election day, everybody in the school was passionately connected to a particular reptile and cast their votes.  In most schools, presidential election years are marked by some opportunity to cast a vote of some sort. In this case, the PEC students had the same opportunity as every other student in the building and fully participated. Their involvement resulted in measurable learning for students who otherwise may only have studied an election in a Weekly Reader. 

Pamela Webster, M.Ed. SPED

Experienced teachers- if you have a story that supports this topic, please add it in the comments below.