What is “Deeper Learning”? - Part I

The four elements of deeper learning, as theorized by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine in their book, and as quoted in Jonathan Shaw’s article:

• Purpose: “The clear goal that is motivating to students in the present…Purposes can be concrete or intellectual, but they have to be what motivates the action.”

• Mastery: “Mastery is developing knowledge or skill in a domain”

• Identity: “Identity is becoming more invested in thinking of yourself as someone who does that kind of work, moving from a conception of oneself as ‘I’m someone who swims,’ to ‘I’m a swimmer.’”

• Creativity: “Creativity is not just taking in knowledge, but making something from it.”

“Frequently, deep learning [is] facilitated by an apprentice-type teaching model in which students learn from teachers and even peers with superior expertise in a particular domain” (Shaw).