Learner Trajectories

Linn’s article, “The Knowledge Integration Perspective on Learning and Instruction” features many very interesting and useful ideas for the education researcher and classroom teacher. One of them concerns the categorization of students into learners who follow four trajectories:

1.       Students who follow the conceptualizing trajectory start with many ideas, move onto abstract ideas readily, and “quickly embrace general principles” (p. 244), sometimes even leading the teacher to believe the class has learned the principle when many are actually still struggling. Linn: “Conceptualizers focus on abstract, normative ideas” (p. 246)

2.       Students on the experimenting path tend to try lots of different ideas and concepts, both normative and non-normative, “frequently generalizing ideas from one context to explain an observation in another context” (p. 246). Linn: “Experimenters pay attention to intriguing contexts” (p. 246)

3.       Those on the strategizing trajectory seek to game the system. They refuse to see a connection between what they learn in class and life outside, preferring to figure out how to achieve maximum results for minimum effort. Linn: “Strategizers learn the textbook ideas” (p. 246).

4.       Students on the conceptualizing route tend to see phenomena in silos. They find it difficult to draw connections between concepts. Linn: “Conceptualizers view each concept as unique”.

Perhaps one of the applications of educational technology is to allow teachers to build bridges between wherever the learner is positioned on their trajectory, to a position of deeper understanding.  Technology, for example, could be used to help build those collaborative, problem-based units that we have been discussing in class. Well-designed, the unit would allow:

… conceptualizers to reach for the big ideas while also seeing how tangible ideas contribute to a concept, and how the concept governs real actions

… experimenters to play with different options before reaching a conclusion and seeing that interesting events can actually lead to the creation of an over-arching concept

…  strategizers to be foiled in their attempts to focus only on what is required because they will be led to think creatively and independently in order to achieve the mark they desire

… conceptualizers to break down the silos and see that there are connections between seemingly disconnected phenomena

Perhaps one of the goals of a good education is to cause people to be adaptable and to be able to change trajectories as the situation requires. There are times when one needs to be a strategizer, but then in the next moment one might be called upon to reach for a big idea. Such adaptability is admired when it is seen amongst our leaders. Perhaps recognizing the trajectory a student is on in order to disrupt it should be one of the goals of the teacher.