The Classroom In Her Pocket (J. Seif)

The Classroom In Her Pocket

I had an epiphany this weekend when I walked into my daughter’s room and saw her sitting in front of her tablet making a lizard out of slime and play-dough.  I must preface my reaction by mentioning that my daughter has not shown ANY interest in modeling clay.  I was extremely impressed with the level of detail found in her art. This was a project that she created herself out of curiosity only using the materials in her room with the guidance of her YouTube demonstrator.  At 11 years old, she was able to follow the directions she received via a video.  She was clearly attentive, engaged and inspired to create.

Coincidentally, the reading from this week echoed that children have the ability to learn on their own without the direction and involvement of adults.  In addition, when a learner is engaged they will invest the time required to create and meet their personal goals. According to Prensky (2010), students learn on their own when they have the opportunity to answer their own questions.

In this situation, my daughter identified a problem (she needed an activity to quench her boredom), she found a tool (IPAD), she searched for a video of interest (DIY Crafts) and had to find materials so that she was able to work at her own pace to create her piece of art.

After I took a picture of her art, I asked her if she would be interested in taking an art class over the summer.  Her response was “No”.  Her explanation was that she did not want to learn to make circles but wanted to learn how to do ‘real’ art.  When I reflect on her answer, I understand that she perceives her ability to access what she needs in terms of her personal goals is more desirable than sitting in an art class during the summer and learning at the teacher’s pace in a structured environment. Now my challenge, find the time to stock up on materials from the dollar store…

Antonio, A., & Tuffley, D. (2019, May 23). YouTube a valuable educational tool, not just cat videos. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/youtube-a-valuable-educational-tool-not-just-cat-videos-34863

Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching digital natives. Partnering for real learning (pp. 9-29). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.