that will help them in each way that Pink outlines? Can we give them the autonomy to choose from among learning options? Can we incorporate into the learning process projects that are meaningful to them and that give them a sense of purpose? If they are performing work with autonomy and purpose, work without easy answers, can they develop a capacity for mastery over time? Would it be possible to teach students to practice these skills right now?
Absolutely! That’s what giving students control over what, when, and how they learn is all about. While that wasn’t possible in the 20th century because of scarce access to resources, all that’s changed in today’s connected world.
Scarcity Versus Abundance
Economists Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir (2013), who study the effects of scarcity, define it as “having less than you need” (p. 4). And it cuts across areas like economics, medicine, and education. Learning in a preInternet era meant having access to relatively few resources. It made it difficult to learn the concepts and skills associated with a particular subject. For many, this scarcity bred self-doubt, rather than self-confidence.
It’s a scarcity that learners have experienced throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Systems like free public schooling certainly improved access for learners. Independent workers who learned easily from texts, and who had access to helpful instructors and peers, benefited from this system. However, a textbook, a teacher, a study group, and a library were not enough for many to own their learning. Most probably gave up on a few learning opportunities along the way when these few options failed to meet their needs.
For many—but not all—that kind of scarcity ended in the 21st century as connectivity spread throughout our schools. To get a sense of the change, consider that on average, in one minute, we upload over 72 new hours of YouTube videos, over 3,400 new Pinterest images, and over 370,000 new tweets, along with new content, explainer materials, games, and apps (SkyRocket Group, 2014). At the same time, news sites push out articles and videos online as events unfold, and academics, researchers, and journalists provide public access to new research findings (James, 2014). Armed with an Internet connection, today’s learners can access dozens of learning resources in less than an hour. It’s a far cry from the meager and highly coveted three or four resources available in the 20th century. That’s what we mean by abundance. Today’s connected learners are swimming in an ocean of resources, while yesterday’s learners were lucky if they had a puddle.
This abundance demands a change in our teaching. If it were still on educators to hold all the knowledge and distribute all the learning resources, then teaching in the same ways might make sense. But when we cling to a scarcity mindset, we assume that our students are neither able nor willing to access resources that are literally at their fingertips. Rather than empowering them, we’re putting them in a position of having to ask for permission to learn.
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