Kinetic Learning: Learning In Motion!

If metacognition is the “thinking about our thinking” what is the word that best describes our ability to learn how to learn?  Learning in the 21st Century means so much more than being able to memorize content.  It is much more about the process of learning, than the content of learning.  But, how do we begin to define this process of learning.  It is certainly not a process that is static, but one that is always changing; a process that is evolving.  Students need be able to access a range of learning strategies that allow them to be flexible when accessing, interpreting, and applying the information they need. 

Last week, I attended a conference in Toronto called Reading For The Love of It.  There I met with Frieda Wishinsky.  Together we started to further explore this concept of Kinetic Learning.  Frieda said:  “I believe that real learning is process, Learning has energy and motion, It’s not facts. Facts come and go from your memory but the “how-to” approach develops, grows and extends. Not just into one subject but many. So much of testing kids has been about static knowledge rather than problem solving. The more we let kids “brainstorm”, read widely and learn how to learn, the better they will be at adapting to new situations and growing.”

If we think of learning as having motion, a certain amount of momentum that allows students to transfer the skills they learn in school to authentic real-life situations it is truly a kinetic form of learning.  It is no longer about the potential that students have to gain and recall knowledge, but the power of applying their ability to learn in order to continue their learning. 

Students can easily access content therefore, learning in the 21st Century can no longer be only about the acquisition of content.  Instead, we need to think of learning as a dynamic process, where we are teaching students, not only so that they will learn, but more importantly that they will  become learners.

Principles of Kinetic Learning

1.  Kinetic Learning focuses on skills rather than content In a world where information is easily accessible, students need to spend less time memorizing facts, and more time learning how to access, interpret, analyze and use the information they encounter.

2.  Kinetic Learning is forward thinking  – It is not about the work that they have done, but rather, about the work that they are going to do.  Students need to be reflective learners, using feedback to set goals in order to help them transfer and apply their learning in new and novel situations.

3.  Kinetic Learning is authentic and purposeful –  Learning needs to be current, relevant and important in the eyes of the students.  Learners need explicitly see the purpose for their learning and the value it will have in the future.

4.  Kinetic Learning is multifaceted – Learning is cross-curricular and incorporates skills from different disciplines.  Through inquiry learning, or collaborative problem solving, students can apply a broad range of familiar strategies to explore new, unique or interesting situations.

5.  Kinetic Learning is “Why” and “How” based? – Learning encourages students to think critically by challenging existing beliefs and act collaboratively by expanding and building on the ideas of others.   

Kinetic Learning is a dynamic process where students learn valuable skills that will enable them to develop momentum in their learning.  It is not about learning knowledge, but rather the knowledge of how of how to learn.  In the same way that metacognition is the process of thinking about our thinking, then kinetic learning is a process where we help students to learn how to learn.  This is learning in motion!