“Knowledge, the disciplines, and learning in the Digital Age”

“Knowledge, the disciplines, and learning in the Digital Age”
Jane Gilbert. Educ Res Policy Pract (2007) 6:115-122.


This article was very interesting. It raised some intriguing ideas and forced me to really think about the meaning of education. What is knowledge? What is learning? What is the purpose of education? What do we want the students to know? To learn? I have often wondered if our education system has gotten away from us, like a top spinning out of control, to the point where we aren’t achieving what we originally set out to. We are so busy going through the motions that there is little time to stop and really think through the purpose of those motions. I think that we waste way too much time and energy filling kids’ heads with “crap”. Do they really need to know what we currently teach them? Is having them be able to regurgitate it back to us on a test or a project really a sign of them learning anything at all? Perhaps we need to find a way to start over again and figure out what it means to be a “knowledgeable” member of society and THEN figure out how to educate to achieve that. I think the answer lies in simplicity – basic skills such as questioning, sorting, organizing, hypothesizing, verifying, criticizing, applying, etc. Maybe the focus should switch from “what”, to “how and why”.

Our current system uses technology as a means for finding and/or presenting existing knowledge, with the main focus on the content of the subject areas. I think the use of technology could be key to achieving an age where learners generate knowledge versus simply storing it. Where learners are active producers of knowledge versus passive consumers. Where literacy is multi-nodal and disciplines are not the be-all-end-all, but rather act as a means for us to explore relationships, connections and interactions. (Gilbert, 2007)

Technology can be used across all content areas, and is useful in integrating concepts of different content areas together. Rarely in life does one discipline exist as a separate entity, so doesn’t it make sense that instead of teaching this way we combine disciplines together and focus more on project-based learning involving multiple disciplines? As a high school teacher I find it really frustrating that we separate “knowledge” into individual compartments, organized by content, and then expect students to be able to put it all together themselves in the real world. We are focusing on the end product of what they should have learned, rather than guiding them on the process of learning.

Does out education system need a total overhaul to achieve this?