Stepping out of your comfort zone -- lessons from Salman Khan

Jennifer McDonald, University Guidance Advisor
"People who step out of their comfort zone, people who fail, but don't give up - those are the students who do well in college and do well in life."

During a professional development opportunity I attended this year, I had the extreme pleasure of hearing keynote speaker, Salman Kahn, developer of Khan Academy. He delivered a humorous, inspiring and humble presentation about his philosophy on education and the fundamental purpose behind Khan Academy.
 
He is a well-educated man, three degrees from MIT and a HBA from Harvard. He had a successful career as a hedge fund analyst when he took on the task to tutor his young cousin in math. She struggled with a fixed mindset that she could not do
math, that she "didn't have the math gene." Speaking with her he felt, while she did have gaps, he could guide her though the gaps to be successful in the classroom. And so he did; tutoring one became tutoring many, which then became his philosophy of providing help for anyone, anytime, anywhere. With sacrifice, networking, this burning desire, and "a few good days", Khan Academy grew and grew. It is now a global enterprise reaching affluent and poverty stricken learners in many different languages.

Sal Kahn believes in a growth mindset versus a fixed mind set. A growth mindset
approaches struggles with the attitude, "I'm not good at that YET." It encourages the individual to seek, find, and use resources to assist in growth and fill gaps. Students must recognize where they need improvement and strive to progress through struggles. Learning to learn is the key.

With the use of resources like Khan Academy, reaching out to anyone, anywhere
under any circumstances, teachers and students have the ability to enrich their
learning and fill gaps. Mastery based learning allows for students to practice, as they
need to, until they succeed then to move on to more advanced topics. The student’s
intrinsic success pushes him/her forward and contributions in the classroom are
rewarding.

The student lesson or lecture is at a student's time and comfortable place, so that
when they come in to the classroom they can be interacting more with each other
and the instructor. Dialogue with the classroom expert (the teacher) and peers
complements the learning with a more meaningful, enriching experience. Project
based learning is an environment where skills are taught outside the classroom and
the human component of learning, mentoring, and building metacognitive
experiences is in the classroom.

Sal Khan, regarding standardized testing' "The best preparation for a test that
demonstrates college readiness is to actually become ... college ready."
Mastery based learning, and building knowledge through interpersonal experiences
allows students to identify and correct the gaps, and build the foundation before
they move on. Allowing students to take the responsibility for their learning and
utilize the classroom to its full potential for discussion and experience provides a
flourishing experience of learning.

In fact, many university classrooms function in this way; the mastery is the students' responsibility. Readings, skills and practice for mastery happens outside the classroom; the professor, the expert in the field, then enriches the knowledge with conversation and real exemplars in the classroom, putting the skills to work in a human context.

As Sal Khan explained, "Many years ago, 20% of men and 10% of women could read, if you asked the literate community leaders to project what percent of the whole population could learn to read, they might have said, 'maybe 30-50 percent with a good education.' Translate that concept to now... if you ask what percentage of students could learn quantum physics, or contribute to the cure for cancer, we might say, '30-50 percent with a good education'. " He suggests that we take the blinders off and see where the gaps are to encourage mastery based learning and project based learning to support success for all students, everywhere.

Students who have a growth mindset will benefit and progress with the idea that
they, too, can flourish and develop successfully if they focus on learning by filling the gaps and developing skills through practice. Ultimately they experience mastery
through mentoring and thereby achieve growth.
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Balmoral Hall School

630 Westminster Ave. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada  R3C 3S1
Tel: (204) 784-1600 | Fax: (204) 774-5534 | info@balmoralhall.ca
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Our mission at Balmoral Hall School is to inspire girls’ imagination and the courage to excel, to reach, to lead, to care.

We are a nondenominational independent day and boarding school, educating students from Junior Nursery to Grade 12.