The Full Meal Deal

A few years ago Dairy Queen advertised their"Full Meal Deal" that included a main portion, a side, a drink and a dessert. It was meant to appeal to those that felt after eating at another fast-food restaurant may have left still feeling hungry or at least, not full or not satisfied. It became, to me, my mantra of what I wanted from so many things in life; from my job, to my partner, and now I believe I can apply it to teaching and learning.
I often think of what I want from teaching, but alas that is a topic for another blog. I also often think about what do students want from school. I also think many of them are not getting their educative "Full Meal Deal". This is to say that many students leave school or a course unsatisfied or at least not full.
By combining the ideas presented in McCombs & Vakili's (2005) paper with Crichton and Kinsel's (2002) paper, I believe it begins to come closer to a fuller more satisfying approach to education, be it online or face-to-face.
While Crichton and Kinsel's work focused on the student's development of identity, McCombs and Vakili's work presented a framework for pedagogical applications in teaching and learning online. I now aggregate these ideas to present "two wheels of the same cart"(Unknown) for Learner centered teaching and learning.
By enhancing learners' capacities to develop their own complex and multi-faceted sense of self, Crichton and Kinsel believe confidence there is a correlating improvement in achievement and self-confidence felt by the learners. By focusing on the students' themselves as people with all of their strengths and frailties, we can create and foster relationships through which any curriculum standards may be met. It is when we de-personalise and standardise instruction that we remove the student from the equation and leave the student feeling unfulfilled educationally.
On the other side, McCombs and Vakili support Crichton and Kinsel's view with their overriding principal that is it necessary to look not only for the match or mismatch of technology uses with learning principles, but also its match or mismatch with learners and their diverse learning needs. They see the value in focusing on the student to develop students fully as well. By providing opportunities for inquiry and collaboration, either online or face-to-face, learners can build technical as well as technical thinking skills. Combine this in an comfortable and caring online environment where students feel welcomed, valued, supported and respected, the fulfillment as they develop their sense of self can become a natural product. The two wheels have now come full circle where each complements the other in their development and success.
References
Crichton, S. & Kinsel, E. (2002). The importance and development of identity in learning. Retrieved electronically from D2L September 15, 2008 as part of University of Calgary EDER 679.06 from http://www.ucalgary.ca/~rwindrim/files/crichton.pdf
McCombs, B. & Vakili, D. (2005). A Learner-Centered Framework for E-Learning, Daily Teacher's Record, 107(8) pp 1582 - 1600. retrieved electronically from D2L September 15, 2008 as part of Universtiy of Calgary EDER 679.06 from http://fp.ucalgary.ca/maclachlan/EDER%20679.06%20Fall%202006/learner-centred-framework.pdf