Learning and performance

Learning is performance. No matter what we learn, our knowledge, skills (and also our attitudes) are usually externalised in some kind of outward expression. Some are obvious: Learning a language will lead to conversation. Acquiring dexterity in art results in the production of artifacts. Learning to play an instrument ultimately results in some form of musical performance. Such performances don't have to be public, but often they are. Some are less obvious - learning complex mathematical formulae will result in applying these to mathematical problems. Learning engineering will result in the construction of engines, bridges, walls, buildings, etc. The image above, taken in Melbourne, Australia, is a performance of learning that includes several disciplines, including engineering, design, construction and mathematics. We talk about 'becoming'. Becoming a nurse, carpenter, doctor, lawyer, technician, accountant, teacher. On our journey of becoming, we engage in a great deal of performance.

Some of our earliest performances, particularly in formal learning contexts (school, college, university), are under the scrutiny of subject experts who award grades, and ultimately, some form of accreditation. This kind of performance is commonly referred to as formal assessment. Sadly, it is often the case that the measure of performance is not fit for purpose, as we have all witnessed recently in the universal failure of standardised testing, or the exam paper fiascos that continually assail our senses via the media. Some forms of assessment are ill suited because they are not designed to measure important aspects of learning, or more commonly, are too narrow to consider the entire performance. Inappropriate assessment methods can be a disaster.

'Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.' - Albert Einstein

Yet the externalisation of learning - knowledge performance - is a vitally important part of the learning process, not only for the student, but also for the entire community they live within. It is important for the student's motivation and also, if done properly, will provide the student with feedback on how to improve the performance next time. It is important for the community, because the community needs skilled and knowledgeable members, and some form of check is required to ensure that the skill or knowledge is up to date, safe to use, and is relevant for the needs of society. If we get assessment wrong, we fail the student, and ultimately we fail society.

But what of those who have already become? Do they stop becoming? The answer of course, is no - we continue to become, because we do not stop learning and we continue to perform our knowledge. For performers, there have never been more channels, stages and platforms upon which we can perform our knowledge than there are in today's media rich and internet aware society. More and more people are performing their knowledge online to a potentially worldwide audience, through blogs, through YouTube and on other popular social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr. Blogging and other user generated content practices enable us to focus our performance of knowledge and project it toward relevant peer groups. These are powerful practices because of their immediacy and accessibility; and having an audience raises your game. Some performances provoke comments from the community - a form of peer review that works as a professional assessment of thoughts and ideas, invention, ways of articulating, strength of argument, contribution to debate, illustration of points and reflective criticality. This represents the conversation as curriculum I wrote about in a recent post. But this curriculum extends beyond conversation into community. Knowledge performance is at the centre of community as curriculum.  From the sharing of knowledge comes the discourse that adds to everyone's collective knowledge within the community of practice, and extends its boundaries. It is this sharing of experience, new ideas, contention and support that advances the community of practice exponentially. The tools are here to achieve it. Performance of knowledge through social media will be one of the vital components of education and training in the coming years.


Learning and performance by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.