This post will look at the unstructured learning style as opposed to the structured learning style. I have to admit that this is one of the learning styles that is least in my own personal repertoire, but I completely understand one of the most important aspects of this style - teachable moments. Of course, as with all of these learning styles, you should never rely on one style exclusively. I hope I can give you some positive information to glean from this learning style that will be helpful in your learning environment.
What is Unstructured Learning?
This style basically encompasses the philosophy of many early childhood experts. It involves what is often referred to as "child-centered instruction." Instead of being teacher-directed, this style gives children the lead. Adults just simply follow the cues given by the children. In this style children are given free rein to structure their day. In its purest form, children even eat and sleep on their own schedule. Children drift through activities prepared by an adult beforehand, but the adult acts more as facilitator than teacher. As the children move through the various activities, the adults look for teachable moments to expand on the concepts in which a child already has an interest.
The Purest Form of This Style
To say that I have issue with this style in its purest form would be the understatement of the century. As a former homeschooling mom, I have seen this style implemented in its purest form within the homeschooling community with absolutely disastrous results. There is a reason children are put under the protection and authority of adults. Children will not always (seldom ever) choose what they need. It is the adult's job to make sure a child learns all the necessary information required to function in the adult world. That should be a given. However, in our current society so ruled by relativism it is shameful, to make children learn a set core of knowledge nearly constitutes child abuse. This is ludicrous. Many might ask what is wrong with being child centered? In return, I ask them. If left to their own devices will children take regular naps? eat their vegetables? stick with a difficult concept until they conquer it? do anything they find unpleasant no matter how important that something might be? The answer to most of those questions is a resounding NO!! In truth even the early childhood experts understand this concept. That is why they have a totally different tone for care requirements than they have for instruction requirements. They expect you to somehow teach the children to wash their hands a million times a day, eat right, understand that they need rest, get along with their peers, and put away all their toys in the right place, but do it in such a way that they feel like they have chosen these things on their own. Academic concepts will magically develop from a child's free play as they explore their world on their own terms. Nothing such be coerced or forced. Children should float along in their happy little world and never feel stress of any kind. I hope that sounds as ridiculous as I meant it to sound. However, I have read those books, and for those that truly adhere to the theory of relativism, this represents their philosophy entirely.
Underlying Philosophies
One of my great frustrations involves how little people in today's society think about the underlying philosophies of what is considered "best practice" these days. In truth, when presented with philosophies such as relativism in their unadulterated form, most people would not agree with those philosophies. Yet, when those same philosophies are presented under the guise of the latest research, people accept them hook, line, and sinker. I guess many people do not understand the difference between scientific research and research done in the humanities. Scientific research usually (but not always) involves concepts and ideas that can be represented in the real world. In other words, the results can be observed and measured. In the humanities, which is basically everything that deals with human relationships and existence, research involves theories and hypothesis that cannot necessarily be observed and measured. In the humanities all research flows from the underlying philosophy of the ones doing the research. This bias cannot be completely removed no matter how careful the researchers try to be. Therefore, all research in the humanities must be judged by its underlying philosophy.
The Philosophy of Relativism
Just in case, you have no real idea what the philosophy of relativism involves, let me enlighten you. People that adhere to this philosophy do not believe in a set right and wrong. All things are different shades of gray. There is no God and no absolute standard for any moral dictates. Laws flow from the will of the people and can and should be changed as the will of the people changes as long as those people adhere to the relativistic philosophy. People that do believe in a set right and wrong represent threats to a stable society because they impose standards not necessarily accepted by some people. If you follow this train of thought out to its logical conclusion, this philosophy basically says that all people should be able to do what is right in their own eyes. For that I ask the question. Should child molesters be able to do what is right in their eyes? How about thieves? Or gang members? I hope you understand that the philosophy of relativism only applies when it suits the people that hold that philosophy. If you fall outside what they consider normal, you are wrong, and they are right. Therefore, there really is a right and wrong. They just get to decide what that is, not God.
Teachable Moments
Even though I have serious problems with this style of instruction in its purest form, some points raised by those that claim this as the way to teach children can be very useful. One of those involves teachable moments. Using teachable moments when a child's interest is peaked, can be a very useful tool. Many turning point moments for children do involve these teachable moments. However, all the other moments of just plain ordinary instruction are just as important and useful. The plain ordinary day-to-day instruction does not have the flair of the teachable moments, but that does not make it unnecessary. Many times the plain and boring can be more necessary to bring a child to the point of being able to use the teachable moment. That "aha" moment had lots of foundational instruction behind it, or it would not have happened. The degree to which teachers use these teachable moments varies from individual to individual. Some people can be very intuitive about these teachable moments and others only catch the big ones. This has everything to do with a person's personal teaching repertoire and does not necessarily make one teacher better than another teacher. It just makes them different. Remember children exist that need all types of teachers. We need to be about the business of matching children with teachers that fit their personal learning repertoire not trying to make everyone fit into a one-size-fits-all system. That includes the unstructured style as well as all the other styles. I really wish we could eliminate all the QRS systems that are solely based on the unstructured style as well as the other side that is solely based on the structured style. Both are wrong.
Free-Play
Another good point brought out by the child-centered camp involves free play for children. Even though I do not agree that this is the only way children learn, free play represents a huge portion of how children process information. How children initially acquire information varies widely from child to child. However, children use free play to process that information. They practice what they learn and expand on it through play. They discover subtleties and variations of what they have learned. They experiment and sometimes outright discover new things through play. All of this represents the benefits of free play. We must fight to restore free play for children in today's society. It is on the verge of becoming extinct for various and assorted reasons.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!!
Check out Natalie's children's books at: https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457
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