By Kris Mallory

The notion of lifelong learning is not something novel or innovative within the educational arena.  Plato (427-347 B.C.E.), determined that education in the life of man was central to the advancement of a better society, although he advocated this for the ‘elite’ in the top tier of a strict social order.  His teacher, Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.), considered by many to have set the standard for subsequent Western philosophy and a tradition of independent thinking, declared that “There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance” (Diogenes Laertiuis, Lives of Eminent Philosophers).

The SIATech Student Vision to Develop STUDENTS who are life-long learners and contributing members of society is being addressed in multiple ways.  Of primary importance in this effort is the partnership between SIATech and fourteen Job Corps education and vocational training programs, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, in which students are provided career technical training to enhance job and career opportunities and to take control of their lives.  

Job Corps is able to provide students with support for housing, meals, basic medical care needs and a biweekly living allowance.  This partnership assists students in meeting the basic physiological, security, love and esteem needs, as defined by Abraham Maslow (1954).  As these basic needs are better met, students are more able to act upon the cognitive needs involving knowledge, understanding and exploration, Maslow’s next level for growth. 

SIATech is facilitating student efforts in their ongoing journey to become lifelong learners through multiple strategies on a continuum from the developmental stage through full implementation.  Currently implemented approaches include a focus on the individual with the use of individual learning plans, a high-tech, motivating, integrated curriculum that is competency-based rather than seat-time dependent and incorporates career linked activities (i.e. business plan, resume, AutoCAD) to provide “Real Learning for Real Life,” high expectations, an orderly atmosphere, strong emphasis on skill acquisition, and the frequent monitoring of student progress to promote student success in small learning communities of between 150 and 450 students. 

SIATech is developing and beginning implementation of a three-pronged approach to increase individual student success: 1) A focus on literacy (reading in the content areas), 2) The direct assessment of students’ cognitive functions, and 3) The beginning use of the Mediated Learning Experience as a basis for interactions with students.

At the implementation stage is a focused plan to explicitly teach ‘reading in the content areas’ in all of the high school classes. This approach has been clearly identified by researchers (Drs. Willard Dagget, Catherine Snow, and others) as key to student academic and career success.  Precise reading instructional practices (i.e. explicit work analysis instruction, reading for purpose, building comprehension skills and strategies) are modeled for teachers and followed up with classroom visits to provide support for execution in each classroom. 

SIATech is employing the use of the MindLadder^TM Learning Guide (Mogens R. Jensen, David A. Fraser, Guidebook, International Center for Mediated Learning, www.mindladder.org), a licensed resource, as an assessment tool to support these efforts.  This assessment tool identifies exact student learning needs and matches them up with specific and effective instruction.  The specific learning needs are determined by the identification of the cognitive constructs that learners use to build knowledge and make sense; from reception/input (external stimuli are perceived), to transformation/elaboration (stimuli are coded, organized and stored), to communication/output. This is straightforwardly described as data gathering (input), use of data (elaboration) and communication of the data (output) by Ruby Payne in Understanding Learning, the How, the Why, the What.  The use of this assessment tool will be prioritized for students identified by a student study team process, a collaborative effort between educators, students, and parent/guardians to assist in meeting the needs of students who are not currently being successful in a timely manner.

At the development stage is the study and use of the Mediated Learning Experience (MLE) and Structural Cognitive Modifiability, as developed by Professor Reuven Feuerstein, an internationally renowned Israeli professor of psychology and a scholar in the field of child development.   Mediated Learning focuses on the development of efficient thinking skills that empowers students to meet head-on the challenges of our evolving society.  Feuerstein’s techniques center on adult efforts to have each student realize his or her potential. 

Efforts are directed toward providing precise tools (research-based strategies) to expand each teacher’s “repertoire” for teaching each individual student in a style and with a method that will improve student skills for: thinking, increasing the capacity to learn, transferring learned skills to other situations (retention), reducing impulsivity and building intrinsic motivation.  This triad of SIATech initiatives is focused on facilitating student efforts in becoming Lifelong Learners and Contributing Members of Society.

Our current era of increased accountability places a strong focus on the artificial measures for the “highly qualified” teacher and student learning.  This focus can and should be augmented by looking at additional authentic measures.  It requires asking the important questions about what students have learned and takes into account the “difference” in terms of individual student learning growth.  This assessment poses more important questions about teachers: 

o “Are they able to help students learn the intended outcomes?”
o “Are they able to help students achieve their potential?” 

Some learning information is measured using student performance on standardized tests that measure the three R’s.  Some accountability for teaching requirements is gained by looking at the artificial qualifications of academic coursework/degrees/certifications to determine “highly qualified.”  However, according to James R. Delisle (Professor of Education at Kent State University), the most important element in teacher effectiveness  “lies someplace deeper, someplace less accessible to direct measurement; for unless a teacher inspires students to become fair, compassionate, ardent participants in our ever-changing world, their educations will remain incomplete and hollow.”

Kris Mallory is the Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction for SIATech.  For more information about the programs at SIATech, please visit http://www.siatech.org.