Although I have some grave concerns about aspects of education and learning in the contemporary world, I hope that How do people really learn? will be a positive and optimistic blog. I will make a real effort not to be dragged towards negativity by the way that current policy and funding tend (in my view) to be encouraging shallow rather than real learning.
So I am delighted to start the blog with a recommendation for an excellent book (or 'pamphlet' as the author has called it). I was introduced to Just suppose teaching and learning became the first priority... by Frank Coffield just a week ago, and was delighted to discover that someone had at long last written a book about the learning and skills sector that:
-
promotes the central importance of teaching and learning
-
includes several references to my favourite theory of learning (Lave and Wenger's Communities of Practice)
-
is damningly critical, but in a carefully argued way, of the policies of the government and its Learning and Skills Council (LSC)
-
is written in a delightfully witty and engaging style.
It really cheers me up not just that this book has been written, but that it has been published by a well-known national organisation (LSN). And it's free! You can download a copy (and even order a free hard copy) here.