In Part Three of The One World School House, Sal Khan discusses the rise of the Khan Academy website, from a simple set of educational tutorial videos, into a main stream of education and communications software available world wide for millions of people. He begins discussing this transition "Into the Real World" by stating the realization that there is no one perfect way to teach all. There are too many variables that come into play in the traditional education paradigm of lecture, homework, and test. He believes that technology allows educators to "craft more particular and individual solutions" for today's learner. He discovered that a lot of students were using simple rote memorization techniques to memorize concepts, but what was missing was the application of those concepts and the connections that can be made to other topics and subjects. This can lead to a lack of assertiveness and confidence among students, and can leave educators with low expectations for mastery of subjects.
When the Khan software first took steps into a real classroom, the idea was that if students could answer ten questions in a row correctly, then they were on their way to more precise skill mastery. The question was though, could a student who is deemed as being "slow" according to traditional educational descriptions, have the potential to become fast if they were allowed to work at their own pace? The goal would then be to make education more efficient, so more time could be spent on the application of skills and concepts in learning, or as Sal refers to it, "mind-expanding fun".
Over time, people and organizations began to notice Sal's efforts, as he began receiving funding from Bill Gates for a free virtual school, as well as test piloting his software in schools, like the Los Altos Experiment. Through the concepts of differentiated education, the Khan software would be designed to meet the needs of each individual learner. While working in the "developmental" classes at Los Altos for grades five and seven, the technology provided allowed students to explore concepts on their own, and as a result, students were spontaneously helping one another and began to take control of their own learning. Sal further states that this style of education promotes neuroplasticity, the brain's extraordinary adaptability to new knowledge and its strengthening between neurons when skills are enhanced. He closes out the section discussing androgogy - the self-directed learner with the teacher acting more as a guide or facilitator.
While I believe that Sal is opening the door for a lot of students, who were failed by traditional systems and practices of educational mastery, I think his references to neuroplasticity do not add to his arguments for the Khan software as a better approach to education over traditional methods. As my doctor has often told me, our minds and our bodies are very smart. Just as a person works their muscles to become stronger and be able to handle more challenging physical tasks, so too does our brains work in very much the same light. We need to exercise our bodies and our brains, to strengthen muscles, and to strengthen our knowledge and skills so we are always able to complete a wide variety of tasks and challenges. Furthermore, like our bodies, our brains are very adaptable. We have the ability to shape what we know, and apply or skills and knowledge different tasks and circumstances. Whether this be through technology use or traditional educational methods, students in both lights are still exercising their brains and applying what they have learned, regardless of skill mastery.
I do however believe that his software, and his techniques, do allow for knowledge and concept learning to reach a wider range of learning styles and learning types. He is correct in his assertion, that there is no one correct way to teach all learners. Education needs to allow for that differentiation among teaching to better reach a wider variety of learners. Technology does facilitate this differentiation in learning, by allowing students to view concepts and information in different ways, and to complete a greater variety of activities that facilitate the application of those concepts and knowledge. It has resulted in a larger shift in education, where technology has allowed the learner to take more control of his/her learning, and has thusly allowed the teacher to act more as a facilitator within the classroom setting.
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