Meaningful Learning

      I think the most important message that this article relays is the concept that we all learn different ways for different reasons. This seems almost blatantly obvious-- duh, we don't learn how to ride a bike the same way that we learn vocabulary words and their definitions. I really enjoyed the parallels made in Figure 1.1, where intentional, active, constructive, authentic, and cooperative learning all create one brilliant star of an educational relationship. In order to fully prepare students for lifelong learning, an educator must incorporate all of these facets into their lessons. Authentic lessons, like mentioned in the article, include learning physics by applying the knowledge of gravity in the classroom to how a baseball travels in the air when thrown. Applying what students have learned in the classroom into their lives outside of the classroom is imperative to creating meaningful connections in a student's life.

      In order to create this meaningful connection, the article mentions a very critical step in the educational process: a teacher must know how to communicate effectively (with or without technology) to his or her students in order for them to learn. It is of no benefit to a student if the teacher knows everything but cannot relay it in a manner that the student understands. A good educator understands his or her audience and references many different avenues (whether that be current technology, cooperative learning, or other methods) in order to reach out to his or her students. Learning in the classroom is not always about intentional learning either; a balance of all five characteristics allows for students to continue to learn life lessons not explicitly stated in a textbook.