{"id":8552,"date":"2018-09-21T12:47:03","date_gmt":"2018-09-21T10:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newinsights.oeb.global\/?p=8552"},"modified":"2022-01-20T11:53:45","modified_gmt":"2022-01-20T09:53:45","slug":"all-learning-should-be-fun-the-big-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oeb.global\/oeb-insights\/all-learning-should-be-fun-the-big-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"‘All Learning Should Be Fun’: The Big Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Do you remember that boring teacher who put you off what could have been your favourite subject? But what about the other teacher whose lessons were so enjoyable that you couldn\u2019t wait for the next one?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all had teachers who managed to engage our attention and others who spectacularly failed. But what was the key ingredient that distinguished success from failure? Was it, quite simply, \u2018fun,\u2019 as the proposers of a motion up for debate in December at Europe\u2019s top conference on learning and technology will argue?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At OEB Global in Berlin, which will take place from 5 – 7 December, a panel of experts, drawn from education, academia and business will debate the proposition that \u201call learning experiences should be fun.\u201d And, in the age of game-based learning and virtual reality, perhaps it is at last possible to infuse all learning with a sense of enjoyment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But isn\u2019t there more to learning than fun? Isn\u2019t a school more than a theatre or a playground? What about discipline, self-control and academic rigour? Doesn\u2019t successful learning inevitably involve doing some things that aren\u2019t fun but are fundamental and necessary?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Two teams of speakers will slug it out in front of an audience of hundreds of education professionals, managers and edTech entrepreneurs at OEB Global, which attracts over two thousand participants to Berlin every year for the annual conference and exhibition. The result, say the proposers of the motion, may all depend on what you mean by \u201cfun.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe key,\u201d says Elliott Masie<\/a>, founder of the Learning Consortium and Head of the Masie Center<\/strong>, \u201cis to view fun as engagement. Fun as challenge. And fun as curiosity driven.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Masie will be supported, in arguing for the motion, by blogger Benjamin Doxtdator<\/a>,<\/strong> who is also a teacher at the International School in Brussels.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLearning holds the potential to be subversive – and that can be fun<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cSchool can also be emotionally draining. But rather than trying to harden students by calling for ‘grit’, as teachers we have the opportunity to build classrooms based on love, kindness, and inclusion. We have the duty to help students find joy in and make their own fun out of learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Such arguments are regarded with barely concealed derision by the opposers of the motion.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJust as the food industry gets us hooked on sugary foods with no nutritional value, we\u2019re guilty of pushing out learning games that are great fun, but lead to no learning,\u201d argues Alex Beard<\/a>, educator, author and director of the UK\u2019s \u2018Teach for All<\/strong>.\u2019 \u201cIf you want to get fit, you know you have to put in hard work. If you want to get smart, you have to do the same to learn. Aristotle was saying this 2,500 years ago, \u2018the root of learning is bitter, but the fruit is sweet\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His debate partner, learning designer Patti Shank<\/a>, who is the President of Learning Peaks<\/strong>, is equally insistent that there are no easy paths to successful learning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cExpertise researchers such as K. Anders Ericsson,\u00a0Robert Glaser, and Michelene Chi help us understand the difficulties of building very high levels of performance,\u201d she says. \u201cAsk someone well known for their level of expertise how they got to where they are and they’ll likely discuss the amount of time and effort involved. In today’s fast-moving and rapidly-responding organizations,\u00a0very high levels of skill and performance are needed to remain afloat. We need to implement learning strategies that make this possible. Cognitive science and educational\u00a0psychology show us that designing for fun is often at odds with designing for high levels of performance. It’s past time for us to do what’s needed, what works, and what keeps organizations viable. The myths and folklore need to be put aside.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The debate will be chaired by former UK parliamentarian, Harold Elletson<\/a><\/strong>, who is expecting some hard hitting in a no-holds-barred battle for glory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear that both sides have dug into some very heavily fortified positions,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re going to be shelling each other with heavy artillery. It\u2019s going to be bloody, it\u2019s going to be brutal but it\u2019s probably going to be the best debate we\u2019ve ever had at OEB. And, dare I say it, it\u2019s going to be fun!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The OEB Plenary debate<\/a> will take place on Thursday, December 6 from 17:45 \u2013 19:00 in Hall Potsdam I<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you remember that boring teacher who put you off what could have been your favourite subject? But what about the other teacher whose lessons were so enjoyable that you couldn\u2019t wait for the next one?   We\u2019ve all had teachers who managed to engage our attention and others who spectacularly failed. But what was […]<\/p>\n

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