Learning through Unique Lenses

“What students learn depends significantly on the unique lenses they use to make sense of their experiences” (Kumashiro 2009).
Over the last year I have been in many discussions with my fellow cohorts about the ways that students learn. How some students understand the content readily while others struggle with it and the different interpretations of that content. What we sometimes overlook and do not give the attention needed to is the students’ life experiences and how they affect the learning, positively or negatively. This reminded me of a quote Julie has on her wiki- “The single most important factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows.”(David Ausubel) Prior knowledge is an area that can drastically change a lesson. If students do not have it and it is required for the success of the lesson, then it has to be given to them. Authenticity of the knowledge would also play a big part. Coming with the knowledge first hand rather than being told it in order for the lesson to carry on. Making connections.
An example Kumashiro introduced was about a highschool english teacher. As I read, I quickly recognized that it was a scene from the movie Dangerous Minds. An old favorite of mine- maybe even an early inspiration. It got me excited to watch it again since it had been years since I had. What I saw were many examples of the very topics we have been discussing in class. I have added the clip that Kumashiro discusses as well as the part leading up to it.

In the clip you viewed a principal reprimanding the teacher for straying from the curriculum and the mandated resources. Resources the students were not capable at that time of grasping because of the lack of prior knowledge. As well, their life experiences did not resonate with the content. It was not relevent to them. They were being oppressed by what others viewed as “commonsensical”. They were being given what has been traditionally accepted. What I like about the movie is the portrayal of a teacher trying to teach the students in ways that will work for them. She is differentiating her instruction. She is teaching conscientiously and that means adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of her students. The learning has also become reciprocal. Her repertoire of knowledge and understandings in meeting the needs and building upon the strengths of her students is growing.