Compelling Educational Experiences - Synthesis Post

As I have been reflecting on the nature and design of compelling experiences, I have come to believe there are three things that make an experience more compelling: emotional impact, personal connection, and self-discovery. I do not mean to say that there cannot be other elements, only that these three seem to stand out as predominate for me.

Emotional impact can mean simply that the experience moves me or stirs me in some way. Whether the emotional response is compassion, anger, or joy, it makes no difference, only that I am drawn into the experience by some kind of emotional response. It can certainly be said that students are more compelled to learn when they are enjoying themselves, when the educational experience is fun or engaging. In the same way, lessons in literature or history can be made more compelling by providing visuals, photographs or film, that portray the content in a way that is emotionally stirring.

Personal connection to the experience gets me involved. I feel a part of it. It becomes more significant when I can relate to it or see how it affects me personally. In Language Arts there is a tri-level connection theory: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world. An underlying premise of the theory is that teachers can evaluate student's ability to use prior knowledge to understand texts. I can also see value in the theory's ability to create a bridge for the students between the literature they are studying and their own personal experience and the world they live in. In this way, they are able to relate to the literature and are more compelled to read it. It becomes more meaningful.

By self-discovery I mean this: the experience enables me to reach down inside myself and discover something I didn't know was there. It may be an emotion that inspires me to greatness, it may be an ability I was not aware I had, it may be a revelation of some hidden potential. Students are compelled when education brings out their best. I'm not talking about filling students up with knowledge or information about academic content. I'm talking about helping them discover who they are. Any experience that gives me a greater understanding of myself is compelling by its very nature because the search for meaning and significance lies at the very heart of all we, the human race, do and are. There is no more compelling experience than that which points the way to my purpose.