Bridging The Gap Between Conceptual Learning And Contextual Learning

“Life-ready” is the mantra we adopt as educators embracing 21st century skills as part of our school routines given that the children we nurture today face a future we remain uncertain of, and the fact that the jobs that they will take on in the future, have not been created yet! With this vision of being able to cope with life beyond school, college or university and be equipped to cope with realities in a workplace makes us re-think our strategies every now and then. “What can we do better so that they can cope?” Education today is simply more than acquiring knowledge, it is about a securing a future and their readiness to meet this will determine their success. Our job is to get them there in a manner that is seamless.

The relevance of this article is important – bridging the gap between conceptual learning and contextual learning. Classic theorists did bat for conceptual learning being the key to the foundation – the one that allows students to decode, analyse, interpret and apply which is all very important. But the need of the hour is also to come closer to “real” learning, time spent ‘on-the-task’, learning to ask relevant questions, and also probe further on the applicability not from a theory perspective alone. The perfect pen-paper answer may not work in actual reality for variables that have not been considered and therefore unless students are exposed to more internships, field trips, out-of-class learning, they will never be ready.

Not for a moment am I suggesting a divorce from the conceptual learning – but given that it places the facilitator more in a commanding role, the idea is to balance out the approaches to learning by more exposure using contextual learning. Imagine if Middle Schoolers right before they pick their subject selection for their all important “Board” examinations had an opportunity to spend time in the corporate world with people and experiencing tasks that they eventually want to be a part of – “dropping” a Math would not occur then if someone wanted to become a corporate lawyer – instead the relevance of all subjects would have the penny drop given that is the demand at work! Or a bank or NGO, or for that matter even becoming a sportsman or a writer, or getting into real estate or construction or media, students would realise that while each was an area of specialisation, the ability to have all subjects hold their importance is a key factor today in any profession. This ‘real-life’ experience, engaging with professionals that have been there and done that and understanding how the trade or profession works actually and not what text-books define it would have a lasting impact not to mention throw up questions for them to think about.

Another idea is simulations within schools to enable them to take on projects independently – for example, challenge them by asking them to create their own product to sell is a great way of allowing them to interview and meet people who have started their own ventures and whether or not these kids would go on in life to set up something on their own, at least there would have be exposed to basic fundamentals of communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking not to mention project management and time-lines. The exposure needs to be more frequent in the curriculum to keep their attention span in tact and excited to take on more.

Travel, school trips to destinations that enable learning and recreation, more project-based learning will help bring these two theories closer together and augment well for the future of education. Technology can be used to a great advantage as virtual reality allows them to visit museums sitting in the comfort of their homes for destinations that are far and beyond. But those who have access to places of interest must incorporate more hands-on learning in their curriculum. It is a simple case of the school leadership, age-appropriately mapping the yearly syllabus to take learning outside the classrooms as well. This 60:40 mix may just be the ideal combination (60% in favour of contextual learning) to get these kids life-ready.

The question is how many will take these risks and try a path that is non-traditional. That will be the real difference between good schools and great schools.

Fatima Agarkar

Guest Author Fatima Agarkar is Educationist & Co-Founder - KA EduAssociates. she State and University topper, Fatima has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from England, apart from her B.ED and ECCE and began her journey in the corporate world. She was adjudged Education World’s top 50 young educators in 2014, and is also the recipient of several awards for outstanding contribution to education in 2013, 2015. Commerzbank, Times of India and Egon Zender International as diverse organizations were the perfect foundation before she was involved in the set up of three premier K-12 national and international schools in Mumbai. Having gathered tremendous experience as a result of managing schools with which she has been associated with, Fatima now partners Gitika to create more opportunities for stakeholders in the education space with a passion for teacher training, special needs and sports. Pioneering, “out of box” and a risk taker, Fatima’s love for children defines her passion for the team she leads.