4: Pockets and Parrotfish: A QUEST for Deeper Learning

This chapter about the book In Search of Deeper Learning: The Quest to Remake the American High School by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine (2019) discusses how the authors explore the concept of deeper learning in U.S. high schools. To study the concept, Mehta and Fine wanted to question whether good schools were actually those that tested well and, instead, study schools that promoted student learning in ways that students were growing, developing, and succeeding, where they were given opportunities to think critically, to engage in holistic ways, and to prepare for life after high school. What they found surprised them: Even the most successful schools were instructing in unchallenging ways. There was, however, a bright side to their research. At almost every school, they found pockets of deeper learning where students were thinking critically, engaging in powerful analytical experiences, and learning by doing. The chapter’s author posits that in the classes she instructs that include experiential learning, deeper learning is occurring.