Minds on Fire

Yet another interesting article related to the !gnite program in Birmingham, Minds on Fire (doesn’t the title make it sound related?). Make sure to check out the section on Social Learning. I thought the following study should be noted,

Compelling evidence for the importance of social interaction to learning comes from the landmark study by Richard J. Light, of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, of students’ college/university experience. Light discovered that one of the strongest determinants of students’ success in higher education—more important than the details of their instructors’ teaching styles—was their ability to form or participate in small study groups. Students who studied in groups, even only once a week, were more engaged in their studies, were better prepared for class, and learned significantly more than students who worked on their own.

There is also an audio file related to this topic by John Seely Brown and others from a Celebration of the opening of MIT’s involvement in Open Courseware.