Knowledge to Wisdom Part II

The minds of learners must be sown with the seed of knowledge, so that through guidance and challenging interaction the stabilizing roots of wisdom can emerge. This emergence of wisdom is what will anchor the student to principles that will faithfully serve as tools along life’s path. Here I will take the time to draw an important distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is wisdom in infancy, whose promise has not yet been born. Wisdom is the maturation of knowledge’s seed imparting its ethical influence upon the world. Knowledge is merely the collection of raw data, facts and information. Wisdom is the organization of these bits of information into a directed and cohesive global understanding. Knowledge is like a collection of instruments playing each one of its own accord. Wisdom is those same instruments harmoniously interweaving in each others melody creating a beautiful sonnet.

Contemporary educational strategies are dominated by the imparting of knowledge, rarely are steps taken to transform this knowledge into wisdom. For it is the mature state of wisdom that stabilizes and anchors learning, transforming it into lived paradigms able to withstand the challenges of time and apathy. As the seed of the tree is merely a container for larger realities so is the seed of knowledge.

How does one unlock the promise of knowledge? Constructivist strategies offer the greatest promise. The constructivist paradigm of education asserts that students learn best when actively engaged by the learning environment. The teacher is not the source of learning but rather the students themselves. The teacher merely facilitates the operation of the learning environment. Constructivist pedagogy creates an active environment where learners are challenged to acquire, learn and construct their own understandings of presented information and facts. This is the process of knowledge attainment. Constructivist pedagogy emphasizes the role of the teacher as facilitator, rather than the role of teacher as the imparter of knowledge and wisdom. The two roles establish two very different relationships with the learner. The facilitator role requires the student to be an active agent in the learning experience. Tools are provided the student, but how those tools are used and configured are up to the student to figure out.

The traditional teacher role presupposes that students are empty receptacles waiting to be filled. This type of relationship is of a passive nature for the learner who must only learn to regurgitate what is imparted. Building on foundations of dynamic engagement helps to ensure the future growth and learning of the student, even after the initial experience has long faded into the fog of time.