Learning that Matters

Nothing could be more obvious than that we want learning that matters, that makes a difference in learners’ lives. Nothing could be less obvious than that we are getting it. To be sure, in the course of their schooling, students learn some things that they put to work often—basic literacy and numeracy for example. However, they also encounter ideas from history and civics that might inform citizenship, health science that might inform personal care, reading strategies (not just basic ‘decoding’) that might inform active reading-to-learn, moral precepts that might inform good conduct. Yet everyday experience suggests that many students do not learn such content well enough and in the right ways to translate it into action. Learning that should matter doesn’t.