2 - The lesson

Summary

The lesson: different perspectives

The lesson is a type of organized goal-oriented social event that occurs in most, if not all, cultures. And although lessons in different places may vary in topic, atmosphere, methodology and materials, they all have several basic elements in common:

• Their main objective is learning;

• They are attended by a predetermined population of learner(s) and teacher(s);

• They are held at a preset time and place (except for asynchronous online lessons:

see 18 Digital technology and online teaching). There are additional aspects of a lesson which may be less obvious. It is useful to consider these through the medium of metaphor, as suggested in Pause for thought below.

Which of the following metaphors captures the essence of a lesson, in your opinion? You can choose more than one, or invent a new one of your own.

climbing a mountain consulting a doctor a conversation eating a meal a football game a menu a television show a wedding

Optionally, discuss your choices with a partner, and your reasons for them. Then read on.

Comment

It is interesting that in any given group of people, there will be a wide variety of different selections, because of the different ways individuals interpret reality (see 20 Learner differences 2: diversity and inclusion). The main aspects of a lesson which are foregrounded in the different interpretations are the following:

Cooperative interaction. This is most obvious in the metaphor of conversation, but is also represented by the wedding, the television show and, in perhaps a rather different way, the football game. The focus here is on the dynamic relationship among students, or between students and teacher. A lesson essentially involves cooperative social interaction, and should promote the participation of all members of the class.

Goal-oriented effort, involving hard work. Here, climbing a mountain might be an appropriate metaphor, or perhaps a football game. This image suggests the existence of a clear, worthwhile objective, the necessity of effort to attain it and a resulting sense of satisfaction and triumph if it is achieved, or of failure and disappointment if it is not.