Most Likely to Succeed

At the recent ULearn conference in Auckland the documentary “Most Likely to Succeed” caused much interest and excitement and it’s easy to see what the excitement is about. The film is a damning indictment of secondary education.

The documentary argues that the present secondary school system is built on an antiquated Prussian model designed to develop Prussia's military aspirations at the time . The primary goal of this model is to transfer content to the learner, with success or failure measured by standardized testing. However, according to the documentary, this teacher directed and focused approach leaves many children bored and listless.

However perhaps of more concern, this method is unsuited for modern society. Information is now ubiquitous. You can google. Computers can write routine news stories and do routine legal work. Our test-driven schools are training students for exactly the rote tasks that can be done much more effectively by computers.

The better approach, the documentary argues, is to create an approach which is not content driven but based on developing skills future workers will actually need: being able to motivate, collaborate, gain resilience and navigate through a complex world of freelance work. 

The documentary then highlights High Tech High in San Diego that was started by San Diego business and tech leaders. This school takes an old idea, project-based learning, and adds technology to the mix. This model is similar to the one being now implemented in New Zealand at Hobsonville Point Secondary School. So at High Tech High you will see no textbooks, no bells demarcating lessons. Students are given group projects built around a driving question. “Most Likely to Succeed” doesn’t let us see what students think of the questions posed to them, but it devotes a lot of time to how skilled they are at working in teams and demonstrating resilience.

The documentary is about relationships, not content. Teachers cover about half as much content compared to standard secondary schools. Long stretches of subject curricula are effectively skipped. As a consequence, students do not develop conventional study habits. The big question is whether such a shift from content to relational skills is the proper response to the demands of 21st century learning. In my opinion is that it is well yes and no.

Ultimately, what matters is not only how well you can collaborate in groups, but the quality of  what you bring to that group. The documentary overplays relational skills and under emphasizes the virtue of intellect. For example, it ignores the distinction between information processing, which computers are good at, and applying that information in novel creative ways, which they are not. 

So if we want to develop citizens who are wise, how do we do this? First, you need to obtain of basic facts underpinning learning. For example, you have to know what an electron is before discussing chemical bonding. Research shows that students with a concrete level of core knowledge are better at remembering advanced facts and concepts later.

Secondly, facts need to be grouped and linked together to form meaningful patterns. This can be facilitated by a good teacher, through discussion, unconscious processing via going over and over ideas until it all comes together in the students head.

Thirdly, at some point while studying a subject, the student obtains a new way of seeing the world - how to think in a certain way. This is when facts have become knowledge. It can be manipulated and rearranged. At this point a student has the understanding to innovate, to come up with new ideas, challenge others’ ideas and be challenged in turn.

Finally, after interacting with knowledge for years, exposed to the rigours of observation, wisdom is acquired. Wisdom is where understanding no longer requires thought as it becomes intuitive. Expertise is playful. The wise person loves to share, and cajole and guide and wonder at what is not known. 

"Knowledge is knowing that tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in the fruit salad"

In terms of the tone of the documentary, schools should not just be designed to create workers for a capitalist system, they need to develop the student holistically, to see acquiring understanding of the world and its complexities - to become wise - as part of  being an effective contributor to a democratic society.

It is my firm belief that the pillar of expertise is based on the foundations of factual acquisition and built upon through interacting with those facts. You can’t circumvent this process, it takes time, which is what High Tech High is in danger of doing.

“Most Likely to Succeed” is inspiring because it reminds us that the new technology leads to new approaches. But skills need to be taught alongside facts. The stairway from information to knowledge to wisdom has not changed. The rules have to be learned before they can be played with and broken.