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Thinking in the Box - Thinking;Learning;Acting

I hear and I forget
I see and I remember
I do and I understand

Chinese Proverb

Doing, reflecting and improving on the ‘doing’ is one of the fundamental learning principles practiced by the UNITE Programme. The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Intensive Tuition for Engineers (UNITE) Programme is an academic support and development initiative aimed at high academic potential learners who as a result of the apartheid education legacy, experienced various educational deficiencies and hence are inadequately prepared for higher education.

The UNITE Programme offers intensive, fun and experientially based activities to enhance and impart valuable learning skills to learners from socio-economically and educationally deficient backgrounds.

For the vast majority of South Africans, apartheid bequeathed a schooling system largely based on rote learning and with inappropriate content for the academic demands of higher education and the needs of a modern, industrial economy. Large numbers of school leavers enter our tertiary education system with limited academic tools to cope which has impacted severely on throughput rates and academic success.

Experiential learning activities offered at UNITE provide a vital epistemological platform from which these learners develop their learning and coping skills. These activities are underpinned by learning which derives either from general life experience, from specific activities or from the feelings and thoughts aroused in the learner while or after participating in such activities (Titmus et al 1979).

Hence The Thinking in the Box workshop has been premised on the following assumptions:

• Learners are increasingly adopting passive learning approaches as a result of an over reliance on technology;
• A lack of interactive activity impacts negatively on effective interpersonal communication skills;
• Problem solving and lateral thinking skills are in decline.

The 'Thinking in a Box' workshop is an experiential activity designed to be fun, creative and interactive. Basic skills are inculcated. The most basic principles are to approach learning with an open mind; open heart and open will (Scharmer:2007).

A variety of learning resources are placed in a matchbox. With limited instruction, but with clearly defined learning objectives, learners participate in a collaborative activity, have to solve puzzle and make a useful item.

The structure of the workshop is informal with limited time allocation. The emphasis is on fun and perseverance.

At the end of the session, valuable learning principles are extrapolated.

The learning materials are easily accessible, inexpensive and especially in developing countries which are under resourced, the aim is to make experiential practitioners aware that everyday use items with some lateral thinking, can become effective learning aids.