Two Arguments and the Criticisms

Why should studying contemporary life suggest educational objectives at all? Two arguments make the case. But the case is not airtight, and four criticisms keep it honest. A developer should hold both the arguments and the criticisms in mind.

The two arguments for studying contemporary life

The first argument is complexity. Contemporary life is complex and continually changing. Because of this, educational effort should focus on the critical aspects of this complex life, the parts that are of importance today. The payoff is twofold: learners’ time is not wasted learning things that mattered in the past but have no significance now, and the areas of life and knowledge that do matter today are not neglected.

The second argument concerns the transfer of training. There was once a belief that learners train their minds and the various powers of their minds in general, and can then apply those trained powers to any situation in the future. If that were true, there would be little need to study contemporary life; objectives would just aim to develop the mind’s general abilities. But research on the transfer of training found something different: learners are likely to apply their learning when they recognise a similarity between the situations they meet in life and the situations they met while learning in class. Learning does not transfer automatically; it transfers when the situations resemble each other.

This is the real force of the second argument. If transfer depends on similarity, then a school should make its learning situations resemble the real situations of contemporary life, which means studying that life to know what to resemble.

Flashcard

What are the two arguments for studying contemporary life to set objectives?

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Answer

Its complexity, and the way learning transfers

Life is complex and changing, so schools should focus on what matters now. And since learning transfers when situations resemble each other, learning should be built to resemble real life.

The conditions for transfer, and four criticisms

Research also clarified the conditions under which learning transfers to life. Two stood out: the life situation and the learning situation had to be obviously alike in many respects, and learners had to be given practice in seeking real-life applications outside school for the things they learned inside it. Similarity alone is not enough; learners must also practise making the connection.

But using contemporary life as a basis for objectives draws four criticisms, and they matter:

1. Identifying an activity does not show it is desirable. Just because adults do something does not mean learners should be trained to do it. A description of life is not a recommendation.
2. Life keeps changing. Preparing learners to solve today’s problems may not equip them for the future, because the problems will have changed by then.
3. Adult concerns may not engage children. The critical problems and activities of adult contemporary life are often not interesting to children.
4. It can crowd out the learner. Leaning on contemporary life alone neglects the importance of learners’ own needs and interests as a basis for objectives.

These criticisms do not kill the source; they limit it. Contemporary life is one source among four, and like the others, it is partial.

Flashcard

Give two criticisms of using contemporary life as a basis for objectives.

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Answer

Identifying an activity does not show it is desirable, and life keeps changing

Also: adult problems may not interest children, and relying on contemporary life alone neglects learners’ own needs and interests. The criticisms limit the source rather than kill it.