Optimizing Conditions for Learning and Teaching in K-20 Education

Abstract

A long debate in education has been whether to separate the study of children's pedagogy from the study of adults' andragogy or whether it is better to bring the two under one umbrella. In this chapter, the authors propose a third, and hopefully, more fruitful view. Their contention is that in order to understand teaching and learning, one needs to examine the conditions or contexts under which teaching and learning occur. Thus, the goal is to address the question “How does one optimize the conditions for all learners and, by the same token, optimize the conditions for all teachers?” Understanding conditions or contexts helps one to view learning and teaching as part of a larger whole. Contexts affect people, resources, place, and time. This position goes beyond the “fixing” of an individual learner, whether child or adult, and an individual teacher. In this chapter, the authors discuss the following: a) optimizing conditions for all learners and b) optimizing conditions for all teachers. They do so by framing the discussion around several key principles from educational psychology, learning sciences, and adult education.