Learner is like flowers

Learners are like flowers if teachers are gardeners. This analogy uses a lot in Chinese culture that teachers are gardeners who need to take good care of flowers-- the learners. I think this analogy is quite fit in what Connectivism Theory refer to. "Learning is a process that occurs within nebulous environments of shifting core elements – not entirely under the control of the individual. Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing." What does a teacher need to do in order to convey knowledge to students is that building a bridge that connect students to the outside world, the real world. From this point of view, learners are flowers, because they need to absorb sunshine, nutriment or other elements that fed by gardeners. Sunshine and nutriment are knowledge that teachers try to bring in the classroom.

In the presentation What is Connectivism, the presenter talks about concept of connectivism and types of connectivism. He mentions that "The experience of learning is one of forming new neural, conceptual and external networks." What I read from this point is that if learners are flowers, teachers need to bring in some new information that students can benefit from and turn those kinds of information into their own knowledge, students need to digest information but not just absorb. It is like when the gardeners help to fertilize flowers, they provide them with water, nutriments and enough sunshine, but what the flowers can do in order to grow healthy or grow well is by absorbing nutriment, sunshine, and water, and then turn them into the elements that they need to grow up. Students need to form their own thoughts by digest what teachers give them in class and to create meaningful things for themselves in the real world.

I doubt this analogy the first time I heard it, but when you think deeper, you might find this analogy does not mean force students to do something they do not like, but cultivate students to pick up what they need in life.