How Unlearning Shapes a Person's Interaction with The World: The Ipod Experiment

Introduction

“The iPod experiment was a start, but to get a sense for just how big a task we face, it’s useful to have a sense of how schools came to be the way they are, shaped by the values of a very different world” (Davidson, 2009, p. 56). Indeed, the iPod experiment at Duke University was a groundbreaking initiative because no one really knew what would happen with this new device that was initially meant as an audio player. It was questionable whether iPods could even be educational, that is, until educators saw students who were born during the information age go to work. When the students were given an opportunity to essentially create their own classroom and ways of learning, without any conditions from the University, it truly allowed them to shape their interaction with the world in a way the old education model could never allow them to do. The world is constantly changing, which suggests that learning is nowhere as important as shaping a person’s interaction with the world through unlearning, the only way to move away from a past that cannot suffice for the future.

Unlearning as a Tool for Adaptation

Unlearning is not forgetting; rather, it is letting go of something that has already been acquired by us. One important factor that helps with unlearning is being open and broad-minded. Cathy Davidson, a Duke University professor, defines unlearning by saying, “Unlearning requires that you take an inventory of your changed situation, that you take an inventory of your current repertoire of skills, and that you have the confidence to see your shortcomings and repair them” (Davidson, 2009, p. 67). By this, she means that one must recognize their strengths and shortcomings. Doing this will allow people not only to improve in a way that will help them face new challenges, but more importantly, to shift their focus and methods in a way that may even create new areas of confidence. In essence, unlearning is about changing what you learn and how you learn. Changing these two aspects makes it natural for an individual to unlearn because it allows them to focus on the present and the future, not the past. Being open-minded will enable individuals to be aware of changes within themselves and the world. Being broad-minded and practicing unlearning will ultimately result in a person better suited to interact in a world that is forever changing.

The Importance of Collaboration in Unlearning

Not only should people be more open-minded when it comes to unlearning, but they should also recognize the importance of working with others. Working together has always been a crucial value, one that has helped shape a very different world. In fact, that same value seems to have even more potential in this information age. Referring to the iPod, Davidson states, “Because everyone had the device, sound suddenly had a new educational role in our text- and visual-dominated classroom culture… Interconnection was the beat students grasped before any of us did. Students who had grown up connected digitally gravitated to ways that the iPod could be used for collective learning” (Davidson, 2009, p. 52). With this in mind, Davidson implies that the old models are no longer useful. Therefore, it is time to unlearn or shift away from the old model and create new educational models. She provides numerous examples of unlearning through crowdsourcing, interconnection, and collective learning.

Case Studies and Implications

In one example of unlearning, Davidson discusses med students who created a way to access all possible heart arrhythmias in a real-time health exam. Using a stethoscope in one ear, they matched what they were hearing in the patient’s chest to a specific file in the audio library, which identified the heart condition the patient had. In another case, Dr. Martha Adams, a senior administrator at the Duke School of Medicine, understood the impact of sharing medical research with others and having other doctors share with them. This led her to create a medical facility that facilitated such exchanges. She even worked as the head of the National Institutes of Health national outreach iPod initiative (Davidson, 2009, p. 52). These examples clearly illustrate the importance of interconnection and the mutual benefits of collective learning. This was made possible only by unlearning the past, which was based on listening to teachers, reading textbooks, and taking numerous exams, all of which have little relevance to life outside of school.

Davidson also explains how students used their iPods to store their music compositions, allowing others to listen and provide feedback (Davidson, 2009, p. 53). Although a simple case, it highlights the potential unlearning can have. Before the digital age, students were unlikely to visit someone’s house just to share their music compositions. Furthermore, Davidson mentions a class in the School of Environment that interviewed families in a North Carolina community about lead paint concerns. Each student uploaded their interview to a course webpage, allowing others to download and comment on it. They eventually formed an audio documentary distributed via local and regional stations, as well as the Web (Davidson, 2009, p. 52). The interview allowed individuals to voice their concerns and engaged all the students in the school. It fostered interconnection and collective learning on a larger scale.

The Relevance of Education

People should tie what they learn in schools to their homes, families, neighborhoods, etc. Davidson asserts, “Relevance has been proved to be a crucial factor for keeping students in high school, especially mid- and lower-level students. Tie what kids learn in school to what they can use in their homes, their families, and their neighborhood—and vice versa—and not surprisingly, that relevance kicks their likelihood of staying in school up a few notches” (Davidson, 2009, p. 59). This is what Davidson means by relevance and why unlearning is so crucial. Unlearning helps keep what students learn in school relevant, and current school systems are not achieving this. More and more testing seems to be the focus, but as Davidson questions, what has the world become?

Conclusion

The world is constantly changing, which suggests that learning is nowhere near as important as shaping a person’s interaction with the world through unlearning. This is the only way to move away from a past that cannot suffice for the future.

References

Davidson, C. N. (2009). The iPod experiment: Unlearning and the future of education. In Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn (pp. 52-67). Viking.