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3 Types of Unintentional Learning

This document discusses 3 types of unintentional learning that can occur in the classroom: 1) Teachable moments that arise from student questions, 2) Pervasive learning from visual materials posted in the classroom, and 3) Development of soft skills through collaborative learning activities. The author provides examples from their own teaching experience where intentionally structuring lessons helped students learn grammar concepts and vocabulary words while also cultivating soft skills. Placing students in leadership roles at learning stations and homogeneous ability groups allowed some students' skills to emerge who normally did not take risks. Overall, the document advocates that teachers can facilitate unintentional learning by intentionally preparing rich, supportive learning environments.

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Biljana Temelkova
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67 views5 pages

3 Types of Unintentional Learning

This document discusses 3 types of unintentional learning that can occur in the classroom: 1) Teachable moments that arise from student questions, 2) Pervasive learning from visual materials posted in the classroom, and 3) Development of soft skills through collaborative learning activities. The author provides examples from their own teaching experience where intentionally structuring lessons helped students learn grammar concepts and vocabulary words while also cultivating soft skills. Placing students in leadership roles at learning stations and homogeneous ability groups allowed some students' skills to emerge who normally did not take risks. Overall, the document advocates that teachers can facilitate unintentional learning by intentionally preparing rich, supportive learning environments.

Uploaded by

Biljana Temelkova
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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3 Types of Unintentional Learning

(And How to Make Them Intentional)


You can plan for soft skills, what's on your walls, and even
teachable moments.
Last summer I had a wonderfully productive garden in my backyard. I cared
for each plant individually and at harvest time, I was rewarded with enough
tomatoes and beans to can many quarts.

The hottest month is July in Texas, and the plants withered and their growing
season ended. Eventually, I had barren dirt again, and in an effort to enrich
the soil for next year’s garden, I composted peelings, leftovers, and
watermelon and cantaloupe rinds that we enjoyed in the hot weather.

As it turned out, it began cooling down and we had several days of rain.
Would you believe that the extra seeds from the cantaloupe and watermelon
sprouted and began growing? Now the once barren dirt is covered by lush
green vines and producing cantaloupes and watermelons that I had not
intentionally planted.

Just as those watermelons and cantaloupe came up on their own, I thought


about how this concept works with my students.

I deliberately teach my students and seat them in the spots where I believe
that they could be the most productive. Then I inspire them to work hard, learn
hard, and produce abundantly. Once the students have achieved learning
objectives, I move on to the next learning phase. But in all that learning, I
notice that my students have developed skills and habits that I did not directly
or even intentionally teach them.
I believe that there are three types of unintentional learning that goes on in the
classroom:

1. Teachable Moments

2. Pervasive Learning

3. Soft Skills Learning

1. Teachable Moments
We are all aware of the teachable moment, and most of you reading this have
experienced it firsthand. We know that one of the best opportunities for
students to learn is when they are asking questions, so we make time for this
in each lesson. Some questions can be off topic, and just like unwanted
weeds, we pull them out and redirect the students’ attention to continue our
planned and deliberate teaching (gardening). But most questions bring forth
deeper clarity for the learners in the room, and sometimes there’s the ripe
question that elicits deeper questions and understanding. There’s nothing like
that moment when a revelation happens for multiple students in the room.

2. Pervasive, Unintentional Learning


This type of learning happens when students look around at the classroom
walls and read what has been strategically placed there (sort of like what
happens at a savvy dentist’s office). When the dentist is getting the tools
ready, we lie back and stare at the ceiling where the dentist has deliberately
placed a chart on how to floss correctly.

I propose that we decrease the motivational cat and aphorism posters.


Instead, let’s put up only student-made posters that chart the concepts and
ideas they have mastered so that in the extra moments of class a student can
reflect on what he or she has already learned.
When the students master the argumentative essay, a poster charting the key
learning about that should be placed on the classroom wall. This chart could
be a bubble map of the elements of effective argumentative writing. As the
year goes by, the walls will be covered in posters that show the concepts and
skills the students have successfully acquired, which further cements their
knowledge.

3. Learning of Soft Skills


The third type of unintentional learning relates to soft skills. I believe these 10
soft skills help students be effective in college and careers:

 Analytical Thinkers: They think about the parts and pieces of the
whole.

 Critical Thinkers: They think about effectiveness and validity.

 Problem Solvers: They creatively find solutions.

 Inquisitive Thinkers: They are intensely curious.

 Opportunistic Thinkers: They take advantage of new learning


opportunities.

 Flexible Thinkers: They are resilient enough to cope with delayed


success and ambiguity.

 Open-minded Thinkers: They learn from multiple sources, even critical


feedback.

 Teachable Thinkers: They have a learning mindset.

 Risk-taking Thinkers: They are open to possible failure.

 Expressive Thinkers: They communicate effectively in spoken and


written forms.
These soft skills most often take a secondary role, like an additional learning
by-product, but they can be designed as the direct intent of the learning
activities. For example, let’s say the main topic being studied in a world history
class is identifying the events that promoted the rise of the Syrian empire. To
intentionally teach soft skills, a teacher may put students together in
homogenous groups by skill level to create a graphic representation of this
event. Students in each group would be given roles to accomplish the task
together. Each member of the group would first analyze the task,
effectively express their thoughts with other group members, be open-
minded and accept the ideas of the other group members, be willing to take a
risk and propose possible events, and be critical about selecting the best
events for inclusion in the presentation.

This has worked well in my classroom. For example, as the students were
ostensibly learning a grammar concept, students that were normally grouped
together in heterogeneous groups (but were now in homogenous groups),
demonstrated different leadership and soft skills that were unseen up until that
point. I remember being astounded as a group of students who typically
struggled outperformed a higher-achieving group because the leadership and
risk-taking opportunity patterns were different. In heterogeneous groups, these
students often allowed the more dominating, successful students to take over,
but combined with less assertive students, they were able to take risks, be
flexible in their learning, and express themselves effectively.

In another example, I observed an elementary teacher that was teaching


vocabulary to her second-grade students. Each student had created a
foldable dictionary out of paper bags. She required the students to provide a
non-linguistic representation depicting each word, the dictionary definition,
and a sentence using the word, as well as antonyms, homonyms, and
synonyms for each word.
What was really impressive was how she organized her classroom into
stations. Her students completed each section of their dictionary at a different
station, and each station had a student leader. One student was an expert at
finding words in a thesaurus and assisting other students in doing the same.
Another student helped others create sentences. When I visited the
classroom, one student was assigned to be my guide and explain to me what
they were doing. This teacher taught the content of vocabulary, but at the
same time, she also taught many of the soft skills that help students become
successful learners.

Captains of Their Own Ships


The key to unintentional learning is that the teacher provides opportunities for
students to direct their own learning. When students are placed in a learning-
rich environment, provided a supportive forum to take risks and ask questions,
and given certain control over their learning, long-lasting and deeper learning
can really take root. The trick however is that the teacher
must intentionally prepare their classrooms and learning activities to harvest
the second round of learning—that which is unintentional.

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