The Desire/Support Continuum
Update: Even Babe Ruth struck out every now and then. Hence, in discussing this further I've concluded that only some of what I've said in this post is actually true. The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that a learner's desire to learn is simply not a function of the support they receive. But they are related. Can you accurately tell me how?
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In thinking more about the unrelenting third, I've been attempting to wrap my head around how much a person's desire to learn affects their ability to learn. It seems to me that if a person really wants to learn something, then they can. And will. As long as adequate support is in place for such learning to transpire.
Because that's really what a teacher provides: Learning support. Some call it scaffolding. Others call it nurturing. Nevertheless, it all boils down to the same thing: A teacher is successful when they make the learning process easier for their students.
In general: As a learner's desire increases, the amount of support they need decreases - whether that be in the form of technical support, individualized instruction, or any other type of scaffolding. Conceivably, there could be situations that require a tremendous amount of support in order for learning to occur, regardless of the learner's level of desire. Nevertheless, I've seen the above model to be generally accurate in all but the most random cases.
Feel free to pick this idea apart.
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