Running Head: PROJECT 2 PERKINS 7 PRINCIPLES

Project 2: Perkins 7 Principles

Jessica Turpin
Post University

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Project 2: Perkins 7 Principles

According to Perkins (2009), There are 7 principles by which an educator or learner

should abide to make learning whole. This means instead of falling victim to elementitis, a word
made up to represent the idea of learning only one element of a concept, the learner will learn all
aspects of the concept. It also means instead of the educator teaching with the habit of aboutitis,
the term coined for the practice of teaching all about a specific subject but not allowing for
application or further exploration, the whole picture will be taught from beginning to end and all
parts in between or as far as the learner can go in the amount of time they are given without
dwelling on all about one specific detail. The seven principles are designed to ensure that the
student gets the most out of the lesson being taught including its real life applications. The seven
principles are as follows.
Part One: Analysis and Application
Play the whole game: The first of Perkins principles is the idea of playing the whole
game (Perkins, 2009). As mentioned before playing the whole game means to learn the lesson in
its entirety. It means learning all the rules well enough to have a basic understanding of the
whole lesson being taught without necessarily stopping to dwell on the fine details. Perkins
baseball reference compares it to playing the whole game of baseball as opposed to just
participating in batting practice or playing catch. One way in which an educator may fall short
of teaching a student to play the whole game is teaching to solve the problem. While this is an
important aspect of playing the game it is only a part of the larger complete picture. One way to
incorporate the whole game into learning is to use project base learning. According to Edutopia
(2008), project base learning inspires students to gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge
by incorporating a variety of learning tools such as collaboration and communication.

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A personal example of when teaching the whole game was not quite accomplished
occurred most recently in my own teaching context. In trying to teach math I remained focused
on one topic for far too long without making it tie in to a larger picture or point out its relevance
to everyday life. Luckily enough for both myself and the student. Since reading the material on
this I have been able to make more of a conscious effort to incorporate more activity into
teaching rather than just practice and memorization. The learning has become more fun for all
parties involved. The student was previously just focusing on multiplying numbers on a piece of
paper using memory of the tables. It was getting very boring for both of us. Upon recognizing
that we were only focusing on a very small part of the larger picture or whole game we shifted
the focus to a more encompassing strategy that incorporated how he would use the knowledge in
his future as a chef, on how he needed to use multiplication as well as division to plan a meal for
a given amount of people using a recipe that served a certain amount of people.
Make the game worth playing: Perkins second principle is to make the game worth
playing. This can be interpreted as the instructor finding the way in which the learner is inspired
to continue learning. This principle is largely about motivation in this writers understanding.
To make the game worth playing the learner must be motivate to play the game or in the
educational sense learn the lesson. Motivation can be found in a variety of forms. Some lessons
are made worth learning because of the social aspect of it. Other times a learner might be
motivated by the content of the lesson. If it is presented in a way that the learner finds
interesting, the student may be motivated to want more.
A good non example of this concept would be my undergrad statistics class. The entire
class was filled with memorizing formulas and terms. It was dry and boring. It was very hard to
stay focused on the material let alone interested. If I could give advice to the instructor of this

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class it would be to tell us how and why any of this is relevant. I would ask for real life
examples of how knowing any of this has helped or hindered any aspect of my life. I was
motivated to maintain a certain GPA and so I was able to pass the class with a B but I feel like I
could have done much better if I was able to understand the relevance of the material.
Work on the hard parts: The third of Perkins principles is to work on the hard parts.
While knowing the whole game is important to the understanding of the lesson, working on the
hard parts is vital if an individual is to improve their learning. Perkins (2009) gives the example
of his parents playing paddle ball. While they enjoy playing they are not especially good at the
game because they dont practice the hard parts. This is acceptable when referring to playing a
game for fun but if an individual wishes to pursue a career in a certain field or playing a certain
sport they have to be more than just knowledgeable of the rules of the game, they need to be
good at the different steps it takes to play the game successfully. According to Sheckley & Bell,
starting with a baseline of knowledge can make learning easier by taking into account what the
learner already knows. When a hard part is encountered and an individual already has some
knowledge of the skill in a simpler form it may be easier to overcome or master the task at hand.
A personal non example of working on the hard parts occurred during my learning in
high school trigonometry. I recall working to remember very difficult formulas and always
falling short on tests. Wrong answers would be marked with the dreaded red x but little to no
explanation as to what went wrong was offered. Without a true understanding of what I was
doing wrong I was not able to work on improving the problem. If I could go back in time I
would advise my former self to ask for more instruction. I would tell the younger version of me
to stay after class and get all the help offered so I could really work on the hard part and gain a

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better understanding of math in general. This could have made the learning in statistics easier to
follow because I would have already established a baseline of knowledge.
Play out of town: Principle number four in Perkins list is to play out of town. This
writer interprets this as the encouragement to exit ones comfort zone and try applying material
to situations outside of the classroom to make it more tangible. Rather than just practicing facts
in math or following steps of an experiment that was done the same way for years prior the
student may be asked how they would apply the lesson in a variety of situations. The student can
make the connection to the world beyond the classroom. One way in which this is often
overlooked is when information is taught that is only applied to one specific event they may
never be encountered again in the real world. The knowledge that the student gains is now
limited to that specific situation instead of being applicable to a variety of situations.
I have experienced this as in issue in my own teaching context when trying to teach my
program participants how to write a cover letter when applying for a job. Rather than
demonstrate how to construct a cover letter using general rules that would apply to any number
of potential employers or opportunities, I teach on a very opportunity specific level. Essentially,
I have been only allowing my team to play on their home field instead of showing my learners
how to take what they have and adapt it to any opportunity that may come their way. I can now
take the perspective as an outsider looking in and suggest that I come up with a general template
or lesson plan that will teach the participants to use what they know and how to seek out the
specific information they should include on a cover letter. I would also suggest having my
learners write practice cover letters using job descriptions that they may not even be interested in
to see if they have indeed acquired the intended skills.

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Uncover the hidden game: The fifth principle Perkins notes in his book is uncovering the
hidden game. When the hidden game is uncovered and learned they can make the larger game
easier to play. The hidden game is a detail of the larger game that can be singled out and if
understood properly used to gain advantage in the larger game. Perkins (2009) used the example
of baseball statistics. When evaluating a player according to their skill at bat the hidden game is
understanding that one statistic does not give you an accurate depiction of the batters skill
because it does not take in to account other details. His example included total runs being
compared to how many times the batter has made it to a base.
The personal example I have experienced of hidden games has been as an undergrad
student. In nearly all of my classes the hidden game consisted of learning how to write using
APA format. While this was not directly related to the material being taught, mastering this
game greatly impacted the grades I received on my papers. If I could give that version of me any
advice it would be to spend more time focusing on the details of this hidden game because it is
more important than you realize and will carry with you throughout the remainder of your
scholastic experience. I would encourage that version of me to practice citations specifically as
they are a hidden game within a hidden game.
Learn from the team: Perkins sixth principle is learn from the team and other teams.
This is one of the more obvious principles. In short, Perkins believes that its important to learn
from the people surrounding the individual. Bronfenbrenner (2016) describes the people that
affect an individuals learning in the form of microsystems and mesosytems. The team an
individual learns from can be found in their microsystem. Members of this team can include
siblings, friends, and those closest by. One way in which this learning is accomplished is
through peer tutoring.

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An example of my own personal learning from the team is as a tae kwon do student.
Similar to a peer tutoring situation, in the school that I attended for tae kwon do instruction the
more advanced belts would always work with the lower belts during practice because they were
already experienced and knew what needed to be mastered. This held true for learning forms and
sparring as well. The idea was that by pairing two individuals of the same level together they
would not learn how to improve but by pairing them with an individual who had already
mastered the skills they would be more likely to pick up the new moves or forms more quickly
by being able to observe the correct way it should be performed.
Learn the game of learning: The last of Perkins seven principles is to learn the game of
learning. This principle indicates that the student should be allowed to decide how and what they
want to learn to some extent. This can be accomplished by letting students pick the subject of a
project or the type of experiment they would like to do. It means allowing them to ask the
questions to the problems they want the answers to and letting them decide how best to find that
answer. By doing this, the student stays interested and focused in the learning. It also allows
them to choose the type of instruction that best suits their learning style.
A non-example of this principle is alive and well in almost every class I have ever taken
as high school student. The lessons are all taught in the same fashion, from the same perspective
and the same outcome is expected from every student. One very memorable instance of this was
in an AP Literature class. The teacher asked for impressions of the reading we were doing and
what message we got from the story. The teacher was not actually looking for our own
interpretations of the story but a regurgitation of the impression she told us we should have. We
were definitely not encouraged to explore or think for ourselves so much as we were expected to
memorize what she wanted us to. If I could go back in time and speak to the instructor I would

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tell her that students learn more when they are able to make their own inferences and ask their
own questions. I would remind her that the purpose of good literature is for the enjoyment of the
reader and not to be interpreted by every individual in the same way. I would suggest that the
teacher allow students to work together in groups and talk about their impressions and ask
questions of each one another. I would suggest the teacher not negate the personal experience
the student while reading the book by insisting that they should have had a different one.
Part 2: Connections and Reflections
My initial reaction to Perkins seven principles was to assume it would be more of the
same information about learning styles and related material but what I found was information
that was not only new but relevant to my learning and teaching experience in everyday life. The
first principle will definitely be applied in my future teaching experiences as it the material has
shown me that I have been failing to take the big picture into account. I have essentially been
only teaching to pass the test and depriving my learners of a deeper, more meaningful
understanding of the concepts at hand by not showing them the whole picture. I think by letting a
student play the whole game it becomes worth playing. When they can see how learning a
certain concept can impact their desired outcome they become more motivated to complete the
game as it has become worth playing.
Working on the hard parts has helped me to identify the importance of having a baseline
of knowledge. Not only will I now be looking to identify that baseline in my students but also in
myself when I encounter material that I am not familiar with. I can use this principle to help me
and my students face the hard parts of a problem with a new sense of confidence that will lead to
better game performance in general. One of the ways I have discovered helps me to work on the
hard parts in reference to the learners I encounter is to use Perkins principle of playing out of

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town. I will take this principle and employ it by having my learners use their lessons in varying
situations to ensure that it has been truly understood and can be applied as needed and not just to
the situations presented when they were learned.
I personally have found myself already using the principle of learning from the team in
my work in another class. I the last mod I was assigned to a group for a project. In this group I
met a classmate that happens to be in a class with me this mod as well. Being familiar with each
other already we decided to communicate on a regular basis and work together to accomplish our
work. By doing so we have discovered that we each have a strength that we contribute to our
work that makes getting it done not just easier but more efficient. Together we have been using
the principle of learning the game of learning. We have learned as much from working with each
other as we have from the class but when working with each other we choose what we learn and
help the other understand it as well.
It has become apparent in the past weeks that in one capacity or another as a student and
teacher I either use or would benefit from the use of each of Perkins principles for making
learning whole. Each principle is vital to learning on its own but it is not until all the principles
are satisfied that learning has truly become whole. I have a much clearer understanding of what
it means to do this and will be able to make a more conscious effort to ensure this happens not
only in my teaching but also my learning experiences.

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References

Bronfenbrenner's Microsystems and Mesosystems. (2016, August 5), Retrieved from

http://www.vvc.edu/academic/child_development/droege/ht/course2/faculty/lecture/cd6le
ctmicro.html
Edutopia (2008) Why Teach with Project-Based Learning?: Providing Students With a WellRounded Classroom Experience. Project-based learning helps students apply what they
learn to real-life experiences and provides an all-around enriching education. Retrieved
from http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-introduction
Perkins, D. N., & ebrary, Inc. (2009). Making learning whole: How seven principles of teaching
can transform education. SanFrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sheckley, B.G. & Bell, S. (2006). Experience, consciousness, and learning: Implications for
instruction. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, Vol. 110. Wiley
Perodicals, Inc.