”Habits are useful but they can also be deadly. They are useful when the conditions in which they work are predictable and stable. But what happens if and when the bottom falls out of the stable social world in and for which we learn? Is it possible that learning itself—learning as we have come to enact it habitually—may no longer be particularly useful? Could it be that the very habits that have served us so well in stable times might actually become impediments to social success, even to social survival?”
The above quote was taken from this outstanding article, ”Unlearning Pedagogy,” which appeared in the Journal of Learning Design and was written by Erica McWilliam.
As a professional futurist, I have said repeatedly that “unlearning” will be one of the most critical skills for successfully navigating the future. In fact, I have become so enamored with the idea of unlearning that I have a website, www.unlearning101.com, dedicated exclusively to the topic.
If you don’t have time to read the McWilliam’s entire article, below are a list of the seven deadly habits teachers (and society) may want to unlearn:
1. The more learning the better
2. Teachers should know more than students
3. Teachers lead, students follow
4. Teachers assess, students are assessed
5. Curriculum must be set in advance
6. The more we know our students, the better
7. Our disciplines can save the world
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