I'm re-posting this item from Stephen Downes' OL Daily because the essay by Guy Bensusan captures, I believe, the essence of individualized teaching and learning. Also, Bensusan's memories of teaching swimming brought back some old memories for me, way back when I taught swimming at a camp during summer breaks from college. I remember vividly that the camp was run by a physicist who designed the shallow pool for kids so that they wouldn't be frightened by sinking over their heads; he also had instructors teach ALL STROKES AT ONCE in the very first lesson because he knew that every body displaced water somewhat differently; a stroke that would be easy for one body type might be very hard for another. The effort was to find a stroke that would be easy and comfortable for every kid--and then teach the other strokes more gradually, allowing students to always revert to the comfortable stroke when they started feeling afraid in the water. JH_____
No Two Swimmers Float Alike. I still feel wistful when I think of Guy Bensusan, a man I never met but who was able to talk to me through his stories, examples, and passion for teaching the person (as opposed to teaching the material). This article takes me back to those heady days on DEOS (now it's all conference announcements and posturing) when we were exploring what teaching online really meant. I haven't seen this article from Bensusan before, though it may be a reprint. Anyway, it takes me back to my own days of swimming lessons when we were packed into a car, driven to Russell, dumped into an icy early morning pool, and drilled red Cross style. I wish I had had Bensusan as a swimming instructor. By Guy Bensusan, International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, July, 2004 [Refer][Research][Reflect] [OLDaily]
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