LEARNING:

THEORY AND PRACTICE

(INDEPENDENT STUDY)

TAMEZ/SURLES DLC2004

WHAT IS LEARNING?

IS THERE A GENERALLY ACCEPTEDDEFINITION OF LEARNING?

Learn?

WHAT IS THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE TERM?

LATIN: LIRA MEANING A FURROW OR TRACK.

THE EXTENSION OR EXPLANANS OF THIS TERM

IS

“TO FOLLOW” TO FOLLOW WHAT?…

YOUR INTEREST

QUESTION FOR THE CLASS:

WE HAVE HAD ALMOST A FULL SEMESTER OF DESIGN, LEARNING AND COLLABORATION

SO WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOUR DEFINITION OF LEARNING IS?

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LEARNING TECHNIQUE?

?LEARNING?

DEFINITIONS OF LEARNING

• THE PROCESS OF GAINING KNOWLEDGE OR EXPERTISE. (KNOWLES, 1998, P.17)

• A CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR AS A RESULT OF EXPERIENCE. (HAGGARD, 1963, P. 20)

• A DEPENDENCY OF CURRENT BEHAVIOR ON THE ENVIRONMENT AS A FUNCTION OF PRIOR INTERACTION BETWEEN SENSORY-MOTOR ACTIVITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. (PEAR, 2001, P.12)

IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT:

THE CLASSIC DEFINITION OF LEARNING INCORPORATES CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR AS A RESULT OF EXPERIENCE, ENVIRONMENTALPRESS AND PRACTICE. THE NEWER DEFINITION WITH A COGNITIVE ORIENTATION IS THAT LEARNING IS THE ACQUISITION OF KNOWLEDGE. (KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION DOES NOT NECESSITATE OR LEAD TO BEHAVIORAL CHANGE)

LEARNING INCULCATES THE FOLLOWING ATTRIBUTES

• A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL AND HIS/HER ENVIRONMENT.

• A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE INDVIDUAL AND THEIR EVOLVING EXPERIENCE.

• A NATURAL PROPENSITY TOWARD CURIOSITY, WONDERMENT AND INTEREST.

• A NATURAL INCLINATION TOWARDS COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION.

WHAT ARE THE PHILOSOPHICAL GROUNDINGS OF LEARNING THEORIES?

• RATIONALISM – RENE DESCARTES (1596-1650)

• EMPIRICISM – JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704)

• CONSTRUCTIVISM – IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804)

LEADING THEORISTS

GLOBAL

• PLATO/SOCRATES/ARISTOTLE

• ROUSSEAU

• DESCARTES

• PIAGET

• DEWEY

• VYGOTSKY

• BRUNER

• PAPERT

• POLANYI

WE HAVE PICKED THREE THAT HAVE A DIRECT

INFLUENCE ON DESIGN, LEARNING AND

COLLABORATION

•JEROME S. BRUNER

•LEV VYGOTSKY

•JOHN DEWEYDESIGN COLLABORATION

LEARNING

JEROME BRUNER

A MAJOR THEME IN THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF BRUNER IS THAT LEARNING IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS IN WHICH LEARNERS CONSTRUCT NEW IDEAS OR CONCEPTS BASED UPON THEIR CURRENT/PAST KNOWLEDGE.

THE LEARNER SELECTS AND TRANSFORMS INFORMATION, CONSTRUCTS HYPOTHESES AND MAKES DECISIONS, RELYING ON A COGNITIVE STRUCTURE TO DO SO. A COGNITIVE STRUCTURE IS A SCHEMA, SYMBOL, MENTAL MODEL WHICH PROVIDES MEANING AND ORGANIZATION TO EXPERIENCES AND ALLOWS THE INDIVIDUAL TO “GO BEYOND THE INFORMATION GIVEN”.

BRUNER STATES THAT A THEORY OF INSTRUCTION SHOULD ADDRESS FOUR MAJOR ASPECTS:

•PREDISPOSITION TOWARDS LEARNING.

•WAYS IN WHICH A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE CAN BE STRUCTURED SO THAT IT CAN BE MOST READILY GRASPED BY THE LEARNER.

•THE MOST EFFECTIVE SEQUENCES IN WHICH TO PRESENT THE MATERIAL.

•THE NATURE AND PACING OF REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS.

BRUNER’S VISION OF DISCOVERY LEARNING:

“STUDENTS NEED ENOUGH FREEDOM TO BECOME

COGNITIVELY ACTIVE IN THE PROCESS OF SENSE

MAKING AND STUDENTS NEED ENOUGH GUIDANCE SO

THAT THEIR COGNITIVE ACTIVITY RESULTS IN THE

CONSTRUCTION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.” — WHICH IS

GUIDED DISCOVERY LEARNING.

G. FISCHER UNFINISHED PAPER: “INTEGRATING SELF-DIRECTED LEARING AND CONTEXTUALIZED TUTORING”

LEV VYGOTSKY

VYGOTSKY BELIEVED THAT HUMANS HAVE BASICALLY THREE RESPONSES:

•HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE, WHICH INCLUDES ALL OF THE EXPERIENCE OF FORMER GENERATIONS.

•EXPERIENCE OF OTHERS, BECAUSE HUMANS CAN KNOW ABOUT THINGS FROM OTHER HUMANS

•ACTIVE ADAPTATION/PASSIVE ADAPTATION WE HAVE THE UNIQUE ABILITY TO CREATE IN OUR MIND, THEN CONSTRUCT WHAT WE HAVE SEEN OR DONE IN OUR MIND IN OUR WORLD

JOHN DEWEY

EDUCATION SHOULD BE INTEGRATED WITH LIFE EXPERIENCE.

HE VIEWED LEARNING AS A MORE CONTROLLED VERSION OF THE PROCESS OF GROWTH THAT ALL PEOPLE EXPERIENCE IN THEIR SOCIETY AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT.

HIS THEORIES EMPHASIZES LEARNING AS A PROCESS THAT INTEGRATES EXPERIENCES, CONCEPTS AND OBSERVATIONS IN ORDER TO MAKE A JUDGEMENT TOWARD THE FORMATION OF PURPOSEFUL ACTIONS

WHAT COMMON THEMES DO WE HAVE NOW?

•LEARNING IS AN ACTIVE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING NEW IDEAS/CONCEPTS INTO MEANING.

•TRANSFORMS INFORMATION — GO BEYOND WHAT IS GIVEN.

•USES COGNITIVE STRUCTURES.

•LEARNING STARTS WITH THE LEARNER.

•THERE IS AN ACTIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ENVIRON, EXPERIENCE AND LEARNING.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPORTANT?

WHAT IS THE DOMINANT THEORY?

THERE IS NOT ONE DOMINANT THEORY.

HOWEVER!

CONSTRUCTIVISM SEEMS TO BE MORE

UNIVERSALY ACCEPTED

THE LEARNING PROCESS

IS MEANING MAKING.

HOW?

THROUGH

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS:

THEY ARE CONSTRUCTIVE IN NATURE, ENGAGING

LEARNERS IN ‘SENSE-MAKING’ OR REASONING

ABOUT EXTENSIVE RESOURCE SETS. (HANNAFIN, LAND AND OLIVER 1999)

SIMPLY STATED: THE DOMAIN WHERE LEARNING

TAKES PLACE AND HOW IT IMPACTS UPON

LEARNING.

LET US NOW PUT THE

FOREGOING INTO THE CONTEXT

OF

DESIGN, LEARNING AND

COLLABORATION?

Blending or Merging

CONSTRUCTIVISMEMPIRICISM

RATIONALISMKNOWING/LEARNING

CONCEPTS

Objects/Signs of the world

RATIONALISM

DESIGN

EMPIRISM LEARNING

COLLABORATION

CONSTRUCTIVISM

DESIGN

HERBERT SIMON: “THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE ACROSS FIELDS – THE COMMON GROUND – COMES FROM THE FACT THAT ALL WHO USE COMPUTERS IN COMPLEX WAYS ARE USING COMPUTERS TO DESIGN OR TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROCESS OF DESIGN. CONSEQUENTLY WE AS DESIGNERS, OR AS DESIGNERS OF DESIGN PROCESSES, HAVE HAD TO BE EXPLICIT AS NEVER BEFORE ABOUT WHAT IS INVOLVED IN CREATING A DESIGN AND WHAT TAKES PLACE WHILE THE CREATION IS GOING ON…THE REAL SUBJECTS OF THE INTELLECTUAL FREE TRADE AMONG THE MANY CULTURES ARE OUR OWN THOUGHT PROCESSES, OUR PROCESSES OF JUDGING, DECIDING, CHOOSING AND CREATING. WE ARE IMPORTING AND EXPORTING FROM ONE INTELLECTUAL DISCIPLINE TO ANOTHER IDEAS ABOUT HOW A SERIALLY ORGANIZED INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM LIKE A HUMAN BEING – OR A COMPUTER, OR A COMPLEX OF MEN AND WOMEN AND COMPUTERS IN ORGANIZED COOPERATION- SOLVES PROBLEMS AND ACHIEVES GOALS IN OUTER ENVIRONMENTS OF GREAT COMPLEXITY.

“THE PROPER STUDY OF MANKIND HAS BEEN SAID

TO BE MAN, BUT I SAY THE PROPER STUDY OF

MANKIND IS THE SCIENCE OF DESIGN, NOT ONLY

AS THE PROFESSIONAL COMPONENT OF A

TECHNICAL EDUCATION BUT AS A CORE

DISCIPLINE FOR EVERY LIBERALLY EDUCATED

PERSON.” HERBERT SIMON PAGE 138.

“THE AIM OF DESIGN IS NOT TO FIND THE TRUTH, BUT TO

IMPROVE SOME CHARACTERISTIC OF THE WORLD WHERE

PEOPLE LIVE.” HORST RITTEL “DEVELOPMENTS IN DESIGN METHODOLOGY”

MAN CONSTANTLY CHANGES HIS/HER

ENVIRONMENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF

DESIGN; FROM THE NATURAL TO THE

ARTIFICIAL.

HERBERT SIMON’S BASIC THESIS IS: “THAT

A PHYSICAL SYMBOL SYSTEM HAS

THE NECESSARY MEANS FOR INTELLIGENT

ACTION.” AGAIN THROUGH DESIGN

“A CENTRAL COMPONENT OF MOST DESIGNS ARE HUMAN USERS OR PARTICIPANTS. THUS THE ISSUES OF DESIGN ARE OPEN-ENDED AND PARTIALLY CULTURALLY DEFINED.” CHUCK EASTMAN PROF. GEORGIA INST TECH.

DESIGN COGNITION HAS AT LEAST THE FOLLOWING:

•STRUCTURING THE DESIGN TASK

•HUMAN CONTROL OF AND INTERACTION WITH DESIGN TOOLS

•DESIGN COLLABORATION

COLLABORATION

IN DESIGN, LEARNING AND COLLABORATION 2004 WE HAVE BECOME AWARE THAT THERE ARE MANY FORMS OF COLLABORATION.

BUT I AM GOING TO ADDRESS ONLY COLLABORATIVE LEARNING.

CL OCCURS WHEN A GROUP OF INDIVIDUAL HELP EACH OTHER TO LEARN.

IN THE PROCESS OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING WE COLLABORATE WITH:

•OURSELVES

•ALL INVOLVED (STAKEHOLDERS)

•OTHER STUDENTS (COLLEAGUES)

•WE USE TOOLS

•DOMAINS

•CRITICS AND AGENTS

WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING?

•POSITIVE INTERDEPENDENCE: STUDENTS NEED TO BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE LINKED WITH OTHERS IN A WAY THAT ENSURES MUTUAL SUCCESS AS A GROUP.

•POSITIVE INTERACTION AND MUTUAL ENCOURAGEMENT: HELP EACH OTHER TO HELP THEMSELVES.

•TAKE RESPONSIBILITY: BE ACCOUNTABLE TO YOURSELF AND TO EACH OTHER FOR PROGRESS.

•SOCIAL SKILLS: OPEN COMMUNICATIONS, ENCOURAGEMENT, AND BUILD TRUST – SOCIAL CAPITAL WITHIN THE GROUP.

•GROUP SELF-EVALUATION: THE GROUP NEEDS TO SELF ASSESS. WHERE ARE WE AND WHERE DO WE NEED TO BE?

LEARNING

MOST IMPORTANT FACTS FROM PROFESSOR GEHARD FISCHER:

•LEARNING IS A LIFE LONG PROCESS!

•LEARNING STARTS WITH THE LEARNER!

•LEARNERS ARE INFORMATION SEEKERS, NAVIGATORS AND EVALUATORS!

•LEARNERS SHOULD BE CRITICAL THINKERS, ANALYZERS AND SELECTORS OF INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGIES!

•LEARNER IS A CREATOR OF KNOWLEDGE USING INFORMATION RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGIES!

•LEARNER IS A DESIGNER!

•LEARNER MUST BE WILLING TO COLLABORATE AND KNOW HOW!

•AS A LEARNER WE MUST BE RESPONSIBLE TO OURSELVES FOR LEARNING!

WHAT DO WE HAVE?

• LEARNING IS ESSENTIALLY CONCERNED WITH SIGNS.

•SIGNS ARE THE OBJECT OF A TEMPORAL RELATIONSHIP, NOT OF AN ABSTRACT KNOWLEDGE.

•TO LEARN IS FIRST OF ALL TO CONSIDER A SUBSTANCE, AN OBJECT, A BEING AS IF IT EMITTED SIGNS TO BE DECIPHERED, INTERPRETED.

•THERE IS NO APPRENTICE WHO IS NOT “THE EGYPTOLOGIST” OF SOMETHING.

ONE BECOMES A CARPENTER ONLY BY BECOMING SENSITIVE TO THE SIGNS OF THE WOOD, A PHYSICIAN BY BECOMING SENSITIVE TO THE SIGNS OF DISEASE.

VOCATION IS ALWAYS PREDESTINATION WITH REGARD TO SIGNS.

EVERYTHING THAT TEACHES US SOMETHING EMITS SIGNS; EVERY ACT OF LEARNING IS AN INTERPRETATION OF SIGNS OR HIEROGLYPHS.

WE ARE ALL APPRENTICE TO SIGNS!

GILLES DELEUZE “PROUST AND SIGNS” P-4

THIS IS NOT AN EXIT!

SEMIOTICS

ONE OF THE BROADEST DEFINITONS IS THAT OF

UMBERTO ECCO, WHO STATES THAT ‘SEMIOTICS

IS CONCERNED WITH EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE

TAKEN AS A SIGN’. SEMIOTICS INVOLVES THE

STUDY NOT ONLY OF WHAT WE REFER TO AS

‘SIGNS’ IN EVERYDAY SPEECH, BUT ANYTHING

WHICH ‘STANDS FOR’ SOMETHING ELSE.

SEMIOTICS IS CONCERNED WITH MEANING-MAKING

AND REPRESENTATION IN MANY FORMS: WORDS,

IMAGES, SYMBOLS, SOUNDS, OBJECTS AND/OR

GESTURES.

THERE ARE TWO DIVERGENT TRADITIONS IN SEMIOTICS

SWISS LINGUIST FERDINAND DE SAUSSURE AND THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER CHARLES SANDERS PEIRCE.

SAUSSUREAN MODEL -

SIGNIFIED

SIGNIFIERDYADIC

A SIGN IS COMPOSED OF A SIGNIFIER AND A SIGNIFIED…THE SIGNIFIER

IS THE MATERIAL OR PHYSICAL FORM OF THE SIGN. IT IS SOMETHING

WHICH CAN BE SEEN, HEARD, TOUCHED, SMELLED OR TASTED. THE

SIGNIFIED IS THE CONCEPT (THE MENTAL CONSTRUCT).

THE PEIRCEAN MODEL

IS A TRIADIC OR THREE PART MODEL:

1. THE REPRESENTAMENT: THE FORM WHICH THE SIGN TAKES (NOT NECESSARILY MATERIAL).

2. AN INTERPRETANT: NOT AN INTERPRETER BUT RATHER THE SENSE MADE OF THE SIGN.

3. AN OBJECT: TO WHICH THE SIGN REFERS.

This is not a sign!

“THERE ARE COUNTLESS DIFFERENT KINDS OF USE OF

WHAT WE CALL ‘SYMBOLS’, ‘WORDS’,

‘SENTENCES’,…THERE ARE COUNTLESS DIFFERENT KINDS

OF WAYS IN WHICH WE MIGHT HAVE AN INFLUENCE UPON

EACH OTHER’S AND OUR OWN BEHAVIOR, ‘MOVE’ EACH

OTHER RELATIONALLY REGARDING OTHER PEOPLE OR

OUR CIRCUMSTANCE.” WITTGENSTEIN

“THE FUNCTIONAL USE OF THE WORD, OR ANY OTHER

SIGN, AS A MEANS OF FOCUSING ONE’S ATTENTION,

SELECTING, DISTINCTIVE FEATURES AND ANALYZING AND

SYNTHESINZING THEM, THAT PLAYS A CENTRAL ROLE IN

CONCEPT FORMATION… WORDS AND OTHER

SIGNS ARE THOSE MEANS THAT DIRECT OUR MENTAL

OPERATIONS, CONTROL THEIR COURSE, AND CHANNEL

THEM TOWARD THE SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM

CONFRONTING EACH OF US.” SHOTTER

POINTING

VYGOTSKY SUGGEST, “THIS GESTURE IS NOTHING MORE THAN AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT TO GRASP SOMETHING, A MOVEMENT AIMED AT A CERTAIN OBJECT WHICH DESIGNATES FORHTCOMING ACTIVITY.” --- WHAT IS IMPORTANT, IS HOW THE CHILD’S MOVEMENT IS RESPONDED TO BY ANOTHER “POINTING BECOMES A GESTURE FOR OTHERS. THE CHILD’S UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT(?) ENGENDERS A REACTION NOT FROM THE OBJECT HE SEEKS BUT FROM ANOTHER PERSON.” WE REALIZE THAT ALL KINDS OF ACTIVITIES CAN COME TO SEMIOTIC SIGNIFICANCE.

“THE CHILD BEGINS TO MASTER HIS/HER SURROUNDINGS WITH THE HELP OF SPEECH.”

“INSTEAD OF APPEALING TO THE ADULT FOR HELP, CHILDREN APPEAL TO THEMSELVES; LANGUAGE THUS TAKES ON AN INTRAPERSONAL FUNCTION IN ADDITION TO ITS INTERPERSONAL USE…THE HISTORY OF THE PROCESS OF THE INTERNALIZATION OF SOCIAL SPEECH IS ALSO THE HISTORY OF THE SOCIALIZATION OF CHILDREN’S PRACTICAL INTELLECT.” VYGOTSKY

WITTGENSTEIN PUTS THE SAME POINT MORE BRIEFLY: “WE MAY SAY THAT THINKING IS ESSENTIALLY THE ACTIVITY OF OPERATING WITH SIGNS.”

“…THAT CHILD DEVELOPMENT IS A COMPLEX DIALECTICAL

PROCESS CHARACTERIZED BY PERIODICITY, UNEVENNESS

IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS,

METAMORPHOSIS OR QUALITATIVE TRANSFORMATION OF

ONE FORM INTO ANOTHER, INTERWINING OF EXTERNAL

AND INTERNAL FACTORS AND ADAPTIVE PROCESSES

WHICH OVERCOME IMPEDIMENTS THE CHILD

ENCOUNTERS’…WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN THE MIDST OF ALL

THIS DIVERSITY AND CHANGE, IS DISCOVERING THE

“MEANS AND METHODS THAT SUBJECTS USE TO ORGANIZE

THEIR OWN BEHAVIOR.” VYGOTSKY

WE USE !

WE ADAPT!!

WE PLAY!!!

WE

LEARN

!!!!!