Wipe on - wipe off!

Authentic Learning Anyone?

Any one who was born in, or is a fan of the 1980s could surely not have missed the classic film with Dan Moriarty and a very young Ralph Macchio in the 'Karate Kid'. The story (in case you don't know) involves a young kid in a new town learning how to cope with the local bullies by being taught karate by the school's Japanese janitor Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita). His first days of training however, appear to be spent as a dogsbody, polishing the cars and floors of the janitors house, except he has to do it a very certain way. Put the polish on with one hand with a circular motion ('wipe on') and then take it off with the other hand ('wipe off'). In the end Daniel (Ralph Macchio) has enough and complains that his karate lessons are really a disguise for slave labour, whereupon his instructor throws a few punches at him and he automatically blocks them using the same 'wipe on' and 'wipe off' movement that has now become automated and he can do without thinking.

OK, I admit it, I'm a sucker for hokey 80s films or maybe it was the age I was in that made such an indelible impression. However, what always impressed me about this film sequence was the way that 'real' learning was taking place in a disguised way. Later on I came to realise this distinction when it came to looking at (psychological) assessments which focus on the different types of validity. 

You can learn and be assessed on a task that on the surface appears to teach the exact thing the instructor wants to teach – this is termed 'face validity'. In the film, the 'baddies' train in a martial arts dojo 'The Cobras', which has everyone dressed in karate suits, standing in line throwing endless karate punches shouting and grunting their 'kia'. This kind of instruction 'works' but many times it can constrain you rather than give you real understanding of what you are actually learning. This is what Bruce Lee was trying to show in his martial arts literature masterpiece 'Tao of Jeet Kune Do' and referred to in the opening sequence of 'Enter the Dragon' when he speaks to his Shaolin Temple master before embarking on his odessy to essentially kick the cr*p out of everyone.

Learning the 'Mr. Miyagi' way is an example of 'construct validity'. Daniel is really learning the craft but without knowing it. This makes it far easier for him to use the skills without being constrained to use them in a set or defined context or pattern. His options are therefore more 'open' and flexible. This is the state that we want our children to be educated in.

We want this because we can only be sure of one thing that the future that our children will encounter, will be changing very rapidly. Many of the tasks in their jobs that they will be doing when they are in their 30s and older, don't even exist today even in someone's imagination. 

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.  -Will Durant