Ron Nash - From Seatwork to Feetwork: Engaging Students in Their Own Learning

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nash, Ron, 1949-, author.

From seatwork to feetwork : engaging students in their own learning / Ron Nash ; foreword by Marcia L. Tate. Second edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-5063-2378-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Active learning. 2. Motivation in education. I. Title.

LB1027.23.N374 2015

371.3dc23 2015028520

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

15 16 17 18 19 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Going to a professional baseball game provides me with a great deal of fun and relaxation. There are those who think the sport is too slow, but for me the pace of the game is just right. With a seat down the first-base line and access to a gazillion concession stands, I can spend hours enjoying the game. Having met the people near me in the stands, I can talk with them about weighty matters like which pitchers have their stuff and which hitters are in the midst of a hot streak. Those conversations provide me with new information and insights from other fans. That said, I never kid myself into thinking Im anything other than an attendee. Im attending the game, and never suffer under the illusion that the manager is going to ask me to play second base or left field. That is perfectly okay with me; I paid for the privilege of sitting in the stands and watching the professionals do the work. Im on the bench, so to speak, with no expectation of shifting from a relatively passive role (unless one of our guys hits a home run, in which case my popcorn and soda are in imminent danger of flight) to one that is more active. I can talk with whom I like, get up when the spirit moves, and even leave the stadium when I want. Im in charge. Im there to watch, and the baseball teams are there to win; for me at that time and in that place, there is great balance in the universe.

While a case can be made for wanting to field the best sports team to win as many games as possible and draw the line between players and fans, our educational system ought to be geared toward engaging all our students in ways that take advantage of the particular talents and interests that become apparent for each of them over time. There is something they do well, and as educators we need to help them discover and develop those strengths as partners in the learning process. The alternative, as James, Allison, and McKenzie (2011) affirm, is that children who are bored in school become disconnected from what happens in the classroom (p. 6). This is particularly true of boys faced in school with enforced inactivity, the antidote to which is any lesson that provides control, choice, challenge, and complexity, together with a teacher who cares (p. 6). Students, especially those at the secondary level, can mostly be found at their desks, facing the teacher and the screen. They are not normally free to stand at will or leave when they like. Theirs is a passive role that keeps them in their seats most of the time. They may well consider this enforced inactivity something to be endured, not enjoyed, for the most part.