Learning Alternatives: Which One Is For You?

Introduction

“Good morning, students,” Crabapple greeted M, standing front and center of the orderly classroom. A crowd of more than 30 students responded, “Good morning, M’s Crabapple.” She continued, “First we’ll take roll.” She then proceeded to call and mark each student as they responded, “present.” What followed was an explanation of the proposed lessons for the day. Blackboard work was copied: much blackboard work, and the staccato of readings and copying interspersed with recitations, interrupted once in the morning for a fifteen-minute break and again at noon for lunch. Drilling resumed at one o’clock and continued until broken by the last recess bell of the day at three. “Don’t forget to study and do your homework,” the schoolteacher yelled at the mass of students who were running for the exit as if they were abandoning a sinking ship.

Such might have been typical of a “day at school” for millions of students over a period of decades.

Learning Alternatives

Now, however, the traditional role of schooling has been radically altered. There are several viable learning alternatives available. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of each of these learning alternatives? Let’s see some of them.

race match

A correspondence course is traditionally a class taught by mail. Lesson materials arrive in the mail. The student then returns their completed work by return mail and waits for the next lesson to arrive in the mail. The process continues and repeats until all required lessons have been completed. There is no teacher-student contact other than the written word. Some programs today allow contact by phone, email, or voice mail. Only highly motivated and independent learners can greatly benefit from this type of learning.

field trips

Associated with both a traditional school setting and independent learning, field trips involve visiting students in a location outside of their school or home to learn about a subject or topic. Places visited may include businesses such as manufacturing facilities, a park, museum, zoo, or aquarium, public service facilities such as fire stations, radio or television studios, hospitals, or police stations. An effective learning strategy, this method requires a teacher or guide to fully achieve. Additionally, scheduling visits to some locations may be difficult or impossible for the individual student.

independent study

Independent study involves the design of a project that students then complete by various means on their own. Collective work can require a number of intricately interacting facets to complete. Investigative research, writing, field trips, interviews, extensive reading, and lectures may be involved and required to complete project work. The final production is usually a presentation, a paper or a report that exalts the details of the student’s work and the knowledge acquired.

Vocational School

An educational stronghold for learning trades or technical skills, a vocational school teaches practical skills. Most of the time, students can be immediately employed in the private and commercial sectors upon completing a course of study at a vocational school. Fields like health care, nursing, electronics, computing, construction, and manufacturing that have a demand for skilled labor or technicians receive a steady supply of labor from these types of schools.

Educational Television Course

The vast majority of major metropolitan areas have one or more public broadcast stations presenting educational programs. These programs are often part of an accredited course of study at a local college or university. Students watch (and often record) television shows at home, take notes, and study broadcast material as an integral part of their learning. Another effective strategy for the highly independent learner, this method does not promote interpersonal contact between teacher (if any) and student.

continuing education

When adults want to resume their education at some point in their lives, the programs offered by post-secondary institutions that address the specific needs of these students are called Continuing Education. Some may only last a day or two. Other programs can run for weeks at an intensity that can range from an hour or two per week to daily contact with the class. Courses can be topics of personal interest, such as ethnic cooking, gardening, writing, and photography, or employment-related areas, such as welding, plumbing, languages, painting, and construction. A very popular option today, these types of courses and programs promote interaction between students in the classroom, interactive learning and full contact between the teacher and the student. Usually, there is a lot of feedback between the teacher and the students, and between the students themselves.

We will likely never see a return to “traditional” learning as illustrated above. But with the growing variety of learning alternatives, there’s certainly something to suit just about everyone. So get out of your routine. Take advantage of the opportunity: take a course and improve your mind and life using one of the many learning alternatives available to you. If not, there’s always an M’s Crabapple waiting.