In the 2006-2007 academic year, I took a two-part course at ISU on leadership and learning, and I unearthed some of my thoughts at that time that pertained to this loaded question. Here's what I discovered:
"I guess I have discovered that learning--effective learning--can take a significant amount of effort. I concur that learning is primarily the work of the individual mind, but I also believe that the individual mind can be easily influenced and wooed by the expectations of society. In short, I think the individual mind has the capacity to be weak and underutilized. So, if learning can be the work of the individual mind, and the individual mind can be weak and underutilized, then does it not stand to reason that learning can be weak and underutilized? That is a question I have struggled to answer. Of course, it is most likely not as simple as the syllogism suggests, but I think there is some partial truth to it. We are cognitive misers, and if this course has taught me anything, it is the effective learning takes time and effort. My guess is that we often do not learn as much as we could or should."
I guess that, for the most part, I still agree with that explanation--at least for now. From this past course, I also derived a personal, working meaning for learning as "1] thinking, processing, and reflecting on an event or circumstance; 2] applying a newfound concept or idea." Again, I still believe in this two-prong definition, but I think it may be rather terse and simplistic.
No comments:
Post a Comment