My dream educational system destroys the concept of "subjects" - no more siloing knowledge within artificial boundaries. Students think things like "Algebra is Math and I hate Math so I hate Algebra" or "Math is my worst subject." It is an easy label to associate their failures with.
An example of learning without boundaries:
One day, I decide I want to play the guitar. I get my hands on one and fiddle around. Perhaps a brief history on the instrument will give me some better context as to why the instrument is shaped as it is, and what all the features are. An exposure to famous guitarists and their music improves my appreciation of music and gives me context to work with. As I continue to struggle with notes and basic music theory, it may be a good time to take a brief detour into the realm of physics - a lesson in simple harmonics. If interested, I can dive further into the required algebra relevant to harmonic equations. Hmm... maybe learning to use a computer program can help me figure out how messing with these waves changes the sound...
And so it goes. A familiar story to most hackers, but sadly an approach that most educational systems do not encourage.
Is this exploratory form of learning superior? My theory is that the associations formed between nodes of knowledge are necessary for any sort of actual deep learning to occur. By sandboxing subjects, the standard school curriculum limits the possible associations that students think are allowed, thus limiting the probability of successful links between nodes. Even an above average student can graduate from college, and be left with nothing but a bunch of barely reachable random islands of knowledge, floating further out to sea every day.
I really love that idea. I think a lot of students which are bored by school (and/or feel left behind) would regain their natural curiosity in such an environment. I think the technical possibilities we have now make much more individual approaches to learning possible and computers can help with this cross-subject approach.
Based on your example they could then go on to construct some instrument (say, a flute) by writing a little program and print the instrument with a 3d printer or have a rough version cut by a laser cutter. The question is: how to integrate ideas like that in the current school system? ...
I can see an immersive virtual world being amazing for encouraging curiosity. This world, the information stored within it, and the humans who frequent it, would attempt to encapsulate all human knowledge. Sound familiar?
We already have such a world - it is the Web. And we know it is a mess, a time sink, and a minefield. However, with focused effort, it does function as an amazing learning environment.
Unfortunately, it is not a suitable alternative to school yet. Telling kids to drop out of school and hit the 'Net instead is most likely a bad idea.
Perhaps the future role of Teachers, will be to function as Guides in this virtual world of information. Most awesome field trip ever!
I see in his description more of a tech tree. It'd be more akin to what you'd see in Diablo 2, but expanded by a 1000. The tech tree method would also explain prerequisites. Ideally, if you can prove you have the knowledge of a node, you could pass through it and continue learning.
No clue how we would go from factory farmed schools to that though. It's another educational pie-in-the-sky thought.
A tree is a great analogy for the model I am talking about.
I think refactoring current educational systems - let's call them assembly lines - into this model is very difficult, and perhaps not worth the energy. A traditional master/apprentice system might be a better base to build on top of. A master can provide the ad hoc guidance that is helpful during free exploration. With the Internet, a distributed master/apprentice system can become a reality.
An example of learning without boundaries:
One day, I decide I want to play the guitar. I get my hands on one and fiddle around. Perhaps a brief history on the instrument will give me some better context as to why the instrument is shaped as it is, and what all the features are. An exposure to famous guitarists and their music improves my appreciation of music and gives me context to work with. As I continue to struggle with notes and basic music theory, it may be a good time to take a brief detour into the realm of physics - a lesson in simple harmonics. If interested, I can dive further into the required algebra relevant to harmonic equations. Hmm... maybe learning to use a computer program can help me figure out how messing with these waves changes the sound...
And so it goes. A familiar story to most hackers, but sadly an approach that most educational systems do not encourage.
Is this exploratory form of learning superior? My theory is that the associations formed between nodes of knowledge are necessary for any sort of actual deep learning to occur. By sandboxing subjects, the standard school curriculum limits the possible associations that students think are allowed, thus limiting the probability of successful links between nodes. Even an above average student can graduate from college, and be left with nothing but a bunch of barely reachable random islands of knowledge, floating further out to sea every day.
In other words: school sucks, learning rules.