Scripted Classes vs Private Lessons
A complete and thorough discussion on this topic likely demands and deserves a book, or many books, but I hope I'll be able to convey some insights throughout this article.
Scripted classes and group classes are definitely not the same, but I'll use them interchangeably from now on. That's mostly because private lessons, in contrast, when done well, are not scripted, and obviously not in group; and because typically group classes are scripted, for efficiency.
The objections I lay below don't even come close to revealing anything like a solution, they are not a panacea. And they do not completely apply to many specific types of classes, e.g. team sports, medicine, forming psychologists, etc.
Here are most of the main points I wish to discuss and address on this topic — the numbering below does not reflect any hierarchy of values, it's just for reference purposes —:
My suggestion for reading the list below is to use a breadth-first approach: read the ordered items, then go ahead and read the subtopics and elaboration of each item on a second passthrough.
-
The current situation of the educational system is
understandable but not acceptable.
- It's 2021 and we are still stuck with the same educational system and logic from more than about 200 years ago. Everyone complains, everyone criticizes it, and we still can't seem to move on.
- Every ounce of effort spent trying to change the current system from within might backfire into preserving it. I'm not saying it will, but how many people have offered valuable changes to the current system only for it to still stay mostly the same after more than a hundred years?
- My suggestion is simple: lean more heavily on using technologies to help diminish the amount of repetitive teaching, while saving the teacher's time, which will be used in private lessons and invididual consulting.
- And no, I'm not advocating for the total extinction of group lecturing, I'm just arguing that it should be a much rarer occurrence than it is now, its benefits are diminishing everyday and the opportunity cost only grows, with new technologies.
-
The ability to record lectures diminishes the need for the repetitive
task of lecturing, which frees up the teacher's time, leaving more
time for private, targeted tutoring.
- Up to maybe the 1950s, this was not possible, but we have come a long way now. The internet now grants us access to content from around the world, not only what can be shipped; and software gives us many more functionalities, like forums, commenting, interactive problem solving, live chatting with teachers, etc.
- Not to mention that, with recorded lectures and modern video players, the student is able to watch the content on his or her own pace, pausing whenever needed, and, more importantly, accelerating the video whenever possible, which is equivalent to living life faster basically.
-
Motivation has always been one of the major tasks of teaching.
Mandatory lectures mask this, obfuscating the problem.
- One of the major criticisms about leaning heavily on the recording lectures strategy is that the teacher now has to enforce students to watch lectures, because, if they don't, then she will (also) need to answer repetitive questions individually again and again. But allow me to reframe this objection: aren't students forced to watch lectures in the current system anyway? And isn't one of the most important aspects of teaching simply instilling motivation in students so they learn independently?
-
Just like when discussing cryptocurrencies, every critique of new
approaches seems to be, in reality, a critique of the shortcomings
of the current system. The lack of motivation in current students
isn't inherent to students, it's just a problem the current system
fails to address. More passive, scripted lectures, and more
mandatory subjects won't make the situation any better; in fact,
anyone with the slightest of experience with the status quo will
agree it will likely only make it worse
.
-
Scripted or group lectures do not offer almost any value when it comes
social interactions. Most social interactions derived from them happen
afterwards, which could also happen with recorded lectures anyway.
-
But what about the social aspect of being part of lectures? Well,
that's as much bad logic as going to the cinemas for
dating
: you're not having almost any social interaction when all parties are individually focused. Most of the social aspect people remember coming from lectures actually come from after them. And that same conversation or interaction could happen if you had seen the lecture in video form, asynchronously. I do agree, though, that the social bond of live lectures — even when online actually — tends to be much stronger than other options, but I don't believe it justifies its existence as the default mode of learning, or outweighs its negatives.
-
But what about the social aspect of being part of lectures? Well,
that's as much bad logic as going to the cinemas for
dating
-
The best professionals almost all had crucial and great close
instruction and coaching.
-
To me, that's a no-brainer when you analyze the best professionals
in the market. Most of them have had great advisors or bosses in
order to get to the top: master artisans don't learn everything
from the ether, or books, or lectures. Even Mozart, likely the
greatest musical genius, had the help of his father, one of the
greatest violinist of his time
. -
And coaching is much harder to do when all you can do is give
generic instructions. A coach facilitates each student's or
athlete's path by giving out personalized directions, after
all
.
-
To me, that's a no-brainer when you analyze the best professionals
in the market. Most of them have had great advisors or bosses in
order to get to the top: master artisans don't learn everything
from the ether, or books, or lectures. Even Mozart, likely the
greatest musical genius, had the help of his father, one of the
greatest violinist of his time
-
No amount of lecturing will ever address all individual perspectives
and perceptions of a subject.
- Paraphrasing it, that means we cannot address all the possible interpretations students will get from having contact with a subject, which, then, requires either the teacher or the student to look for the blind spots and seek to fill in the lingering questions.
- Trying to address all of the perspectives might also end up bloating the content into something overcomplicated or too long.
-
The current trend of teaching methodologies is just another, more
polished form of lecturing, which offer considerable diminishing
returns when compared to private lessons anyways.
- I hope the psychological insufficiency of lectures not being able to address the subjective perceptions of each student also puts a last nail on the methodologies coffin.
- Yes, there are better techniques for teaching — which vary according to different subjects, by the way —, and the last 2 centuries' methodologies have improved them a lot. However, the diminishing returns on them don't justify at all their current importance and emphasis. There's a reason why private teaching is still used, the most primal and the most effective way of teaching.
-
Theory isn't enough, practice and, more importantly, constant feedback
is what builds true expertise.
-
Hasn't the pandemic proven that overemphasis on theory isn't
enough to be able to solve a problem? Researchers argued for
decades that gain of function research would help us prepare for
pandemics, but it turns out that, we were not only ill-prepared,
but the risks outweighed the negatives. That's what happens when
theory, justification and argumentation overtake reality and
experimentation
. - Despite years of instructions, how many college graduates get a diploma with only a tiny amount of true expertise in the end? There are many factors here, but I doubt the absence of a tight feedback loop isn't one of them.
-
Hasn't the pandemic proven that overemphasis on theory isn't
enough to be able to solve a problem? Researchers argued for
decades that gain of function research would help us prepare for
pandemics, but it turns out that, we were not only ill-prepared,
but the risks outweighed the negatives. That's what happens when
theory, justification and argumentation overtake reality and
experimentation
-
Scripted classes are time-wise practical for the teacher but time-wise
impractical for the student.
- From the teacher's point of view, it's very practical to create panacea-like lectures and perform them year after year, it saves time on preparation and the mass impact on so many students surely seems nice. Nevertheless, it won't be sufficient because each student has her own interpretation; in the end they will have to compensate, on their own time, for the teacher's misconceptions.
-
Scripted classes create bad habits: scripted answers.
- And they might also be at the origin of the test epidemic in our educational systems. Do we train for knowledge or wisdom or for passing tests?
- Recitation and rote memorization isn't learning, and I know most lectures get this point actually, but the whole setup and structure of the lecture implies some sort of exhaustiveness of knowledge, and that memorizing what the teacher said is enough. True knowing is flowy: any question, any articulation of the content can be ultimately intepreted and explained by a true master.
-
Private lessons help avoid shame when making mistakes.
-
Shame is the elephant in the room of learning. Most teachers and
students are busy trying to tackle content or motivational
problems when, in fact, all impediments stem from the shame of
making mistakes or feeling dumb
. Our society is nowadays much more based on intellectual rather than physical prowess after all. - I would bet a lot of money shame is actually what keeps so many people from learning more math, for example, instead of (perceived) mental capabilities.
-
Shame is the elephant in the room of learning. Most teachers and
students are busy trying to tackle content or motivational
problems when, in fact, all impediments stem from the shame of
making mistakes or feeling dumb
-
Recorded classes actually do not diminish the students' ability of
posing questions.
- That's because current online learning software lets students pose questions anyway, for instance.
- And software will even lower the burden on the teacher: no more need for always answering the same questions, they will forever be registered on the platform. That also makes knowledge much more searchable and easier to find.
-
Private lessons enable more targeted and motivated homework.
- The student can ask to work on related projects with hopefully real interest, instead of the typical generic homework which do not appeal to no one.
My Go YouTube channel tries to apply all of the principles and insights I've gathered over the years on this topic. For example, I usually try to create general content in video lectures in order to reserve time for personalized directions, when giving private lessons.
If you wish to know how far scripted classes can go, take a look at Se você quer ver a que ponto aulas típicas podem chegar, veja this account from a Swedish medicine student in China, where questioning teachers is considered impolite and alien.
Eu acabei criando uma versão traduzida deste artigo no meu canal de YouTube: