“Life is difficult”
says M. Scott peck from the book The Road Less Traveled.

Is learning difficult too?  Some may say , Yes!; and a few may say, No!. But for sure either perspective would agree that the degree of difficulty of learning in time (to a point of mastering it) will be reduced when one works “hard” at it constanty. Students who work only during exams may not go as far as those students who work continually at it, i.e., studying with or without exams.

Solutions to a “difficult life” are often times not handed down.  Often times one has to work at it through day and night; similarly, the learning environment should be structured such that students are continually reminded that learning is the learners’ responsibility; but at the same time the instructor should manifest sensitivity to their learning styles by varying concept development strategies and through multiple representations.  Engaging the learners “hands on” and “minds on” can create this environment, i.e., exposing them to activities that continually make them metacognized on their learning.  The availability of technology, e.g. response systems, can augment these processes. 

The degree of appropriateness of a solution to a given life-problem is gauged on how much the problem has either been alleviated or eradicated.  Likewise, studying and learning becomes meaningful only when it resonates with the learners’ daily experiences. This event can be facilitated through interaction with one’s peers and instructor.  The instructor engages students through Socratic dialogue and feeds on the knowledge the learners bring into the class.

If the classroom mimics life (problem, solution, and feedback) then the instructor who manages it must prepare wholeheartedly for it.  Admittedly, this endeavor is not a walk in the park but with the community of educators’ support and collaboration the task could have a critical impact on the learners.