Born to be geek! -- Learning2023-01-05T18:15:16+01:00http://herraiz.org/blog/tags/learning/Israel Herraizisra@herraiz.orgLearning by doing2010-08-10T00:00:00+02:00http://herraiz.org/blog/2010/08/10/learning-by-doing<p>
"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I
understand". That's a very well known quote by Confucius, that is
usually mentioned by pedagogues. Basically, it says that most of the
times the best way to learn is by doing.
</p>
<p>
Since the end of July, and thanks to the generous funding of the <a href="http://www.uax.es">UAX</a>,
I am visiting the <a href="http://sail.cs.queensu.ca">SAIL</a> research group at <a href="http://www.queensu.ca">Queen's University</a>. As part
of my visit, last week I went to Waterloo to visit the rest of the
team that works over there. Jack and Ahmed took me around the campus
of the <a href="http://www.uwaterloo.ca">University of Waterloo</a>, and I noticed that there was more
campus activity than at Queen's. They explained to me that it was
because of the "coop" students. At first, I did not really catch what
they meant. What is that "coop" thing? At Waterloo, students have
teaching terms and "coop" terms, when they go to companies and work
there for six months, as part of their learning experience. They work
and attend classes, during all the scholar courses. There are
different options, like working only during summer terms, or doing it
alternate, which means that some students have to attend courses
during summertime. Basically, there is always a teaching semester,
even in summer. And both attending classes and working count as part
of their studies. Interesting, huh?
</p>
<p>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Waterloo">According to Wikipedia</a>, Waterloo has the largest "cooperative
educational" program in the world. There is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_education">full article in
Wikipedia about cooperative education</a>, full of interesting references
and experiences about the topic. It seems that it started in the
United States at the beginning of the 20th century, with the goal of
improving the learning process of engineering students. They realized
that those students who had to work to cover their expenses were
achieving better academic results and more job opportunities.
</p>
<p>
Actually, last weekend, while hanging out in Kingston, I found a group
of students with a "Formula 1"-like car, and they explained to me that
they built the car themselves, as part of their undergraduate studies
on Mechanical Engineering. They actually have created <a href="http://www.qfsae.com/">a racing and
engineering team</a>, and were ranked first in Canada in the
competition. The car even had some telemetry systems, that they used
to tweak the car to the different circuits where they have to
compete. They car cost about 50,000 CAD to build, with most of the
budget coming from Queen's, but also with funding coming from
different sponsors. I was amazed that a bunch of guys in their early
twenties could have built such a car, which was by all means
equivalent to the cars that we see in the Formula 1 racing, and above
all, that they did it with so many constraints. They start have the
car at the beginning of the course, and in the same scholar course,
they have to participate in the competition. If they do that for
undergraduate studies, imagine what endeavors will those students will
be able to manage in their professional future.
</p>
<p>
So far, I thought that it was better to delay contact with the real
world while studying. If you start to work, it will distract you, you
will not get grades as good as you could, and even though you gain in
experience, you will loose in grades, that are important for some
future options (like applying for a research grant, at least in
Spain). But having known about these initiatives, I have changed my
mind. Grades, for themselves, are useless, They are just a carrot in
front of students that make them concentrate in getting better
grades, they are not a learning instrument. In engineering studies
(and probably in other studies), learning is achieved by doing, and
everything that separate students from doing is wasting the time of
professors and students. In my experience as student, and short
experience yet as lecturer, those students that go to a company for
some time while they are still pursuing their undergraduate studies
have to face more difficulties to pass their courses, and some times
even the lack of understanding by lecturers, that want them to attend
their classes. In summary, the policies that we use for grading,
teaching and student practices, discourage students from going to
industry to gain experience, because that is usually reflected
negatively in the rest of their curriculum.
</p>
<p>
Next time we face a case of a student who cannot attend classes
because she is working (either as a part of the curriculum, or just to
earn some money), instead of punishing her, we should think about the
goal of their studies, and therefore as our goal as teachers. Is it
their learning or our grading? Is it more important to attend our
classes or to be part of the real world of the profession out there?
And should we discourage or encourage that? Do we want them to hear
and forget, see and remember, or do and understand?
</p>