Project-Based, Organic Education

Background

We all learn differntly, at different rates, from different cultures and perspectives, and from different levels of understanding. Additionally, trends in education like self-paced, onlie courses, and micro-credentials are changing the way we learn.

I, for instance, have always believed in Project-Based learning. I typically learn something new when I have a product I want to build. It’s typically a digital product and starts from sketches and designs, as that is my background. I am experienced JavaScript coder, so rather than taking a full course in Python to learn a new language, I quickly teach myself the concepts from resources on the internet.

With these new ways of learning, I question whether “HOW we build curriculmn” is still valid. What if curiculm was approached in the same way software was, for example, using: • Small compents that had one fuction that could be reused and shared • Separation of concerns that decoupled the objectives, activities, and context • Machine Learning to orchestrate and monitor the lesson constructs

Approach

Teaching is one of the most complex activities I’ve ever had the pleasure of taking part in. It has many variable. A simple equation might look like this: You may be teaching someone (Persona) about a something (Subject) and you can teach it in various ways (Themes).

To account for these variables, my approach is to break traditional curriculumn into components that can be mixed and matched dynamiclaly, allowing teacher to personalize lessons.

To understand the dynamic way content can be mixed and matched, use the tool below to execute the following steps. Use the Reset button after each step to reset the tool.

Content Reuse

Steps

1. Switch between Personas. Here we are using a Beginner and an Advanced Persona, but this could be a child, adult, or working professional with industry knowledge

Note

Notice how some content can be resused across personas and how related learning can be customized.

Personalization

Steps

1. Select 1 Persona and 1 Subject
2. Switch between Themes

Note

Notice how each subject can ber taught with multiple themes, customized to an Activity, Teaching Style or Personal Interest.

Cross-Discipline Learning

Steps

1. Select 1 Persona and 1 Theme
2. Switch between Subjects

Note

Notice how each subject can be taught with multiple themes, customized to an Activity, Teaching Style or Personal Interest.

Organic Learning

Steps

1. Select 1 Persona and 1 Subject

Note

Notice how each lesson can lead to other topics, either for deeper understanding, or addional interests

Reults

sesson for: Theme:

Learning Objective	Lesson Steps	Activities	Theme	Related Topics