David Perkins, author of Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education, discusses the importance of student-centered
learning and giving our students autonomy over their learning by “putting students in
the driver’s seat”. To those who read my blog regularly, it’s no secret that I wholly
endorse the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) pedagogical approach to teaching/learning.
UDL is a set of learning concepts developed by CAST that provides all students
with an equal opportunity to learn. The goal of UDL is to adjust the learning
process to the learner, rather than force the learner to adjust to the teaching
and curriculum of the teacher (Cast, 2018). The aim of the UDL framework
is to reduce barriers to learning by representing content in various mediums,
utilizing systems and processes that allow students to take ownership of the
learning based on how the student learns, absorbs, and interprets (Cast, 2018).
Perkins placing heavy emphasis on the importance of
students “taking the driver’s seat” is an educational approach known as self-directed
learning. Self-directed learning aligns closely with the UDL tenant of “Action and Expression”, and as an educator, my strategy of instruction is to put students
in the driver’s seat as much as possible. People differ in how they learn,
absorb, process, and express. When you put students in the driver’s seat, the
student is responsible for demonstrating comprehension with the autonomy to do
so freely, which allows learners to play to their own strengths when learning. However,
for educators that teach this way, there is a strategy behind the strategy, as there
is more to it than meets the eye when teaching a concept. David Perkins refers
to this strategy behind the strategy as the "hidden game"(Perkins, 2010).
For many students, their first instinct is to just sit and listen and passively absorb the learning content. And while students can learn about a subject matter with this approach, students are not going to develop any deeper thinking skills beyond the subject, which in the end, will limit how much a student can learn throughout a learning experience (Perkins, 2010). Students that take ownership of their learning have to play the "hidden game" as students develop and utilize skills needed when “taking the driver’s seat” (Perkins, 2010). As a learner utilizes all of the skills they need to complete their learning task when in the driver’s seat, students will find they have to learn about themselves, how they learn, and also, possibly learn new, important skills to complete their objective. This is the hidden game that Perkins refers to. The hidden game often requires students to think about thinking, which is the textbook definition of Metacognition (Metacognition: The Skill That Promotes Advanced Learning, 2020). Thinking about thinking, or metacognition, is a useful skill to have in all facets of life, and when students utilize metacognitive thought, students develop a deeper awareness of the learning process and gain control over their own learning.
So, by putting students in the driver’s seat, students not only learn about a subject, but students gain higher learning skills, as well as other skills to complete a learning objective. As an example, I am developing a leadership course for undergrad students, and my summative assessment is a scaffolded leadership action plan. The terminal project requires students to make use of all of the learning material in the course to complete. But also, the UDL approach to my assignment, has a strategy behind the strategy, as I am requiring my students to take the driver’s seat for this project. I am not just trying to teach my students about leadership, I am trying to get them to discover within themselves what leadership means. And in addition to that, the strategy behind the strategy, or the "hidden game" as David Perkins describes it as, is that I want learners to develop metacognition skills, digital literacy skills, reflection skills, and logical organizational skills; utilizing these skills to learn about leadership in their terminal project. Such skills in their future, will both enhance their learning ability, but also, enhance their leadership ability as they progress through life, which in pedagogical terms, is called educational transfer.
References: CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
[Education Week]. (2017, April 19). What Is ‘Transfer of Learning’ and How Does It Help Students? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/N8QfkT8L9lo
Metacognition: The Skill That Promotes Advanced Learning. (2020, April 28). [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/elZFL4FLVLE
Nine Elements. (n.d.). Digital Citizenship. https://www.digitalcitizenship.net/nine-elements.html
Perkins, D. (2010, September 28). Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Reflective Learning: Thinking About the Way You Learn. (n.d.). https://effectiviology.com/reflective-learning/
Tech, C. (2022, August 17). Logical Reasoning: Become A Better Thinker [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/OcCPaSEICTY
UDL: Action & Expression. (2018, January 12). https://udlguidelines.cast.org/action-expression