Bob Leamnson (RLEAMNSON@umassd.edu)
Tue, 12 Jan 1999 11:04:24 -0500 (EST)
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1999 11:04:24 -0500 (EST) From: Bob Leamnson <RLEAMNSON@umassd.edu> Subject: [ifets] Paradigms and related matters
After reading Nora's position paper on adult learners, and John's
reaction, I was reminded of several ideas I've come across in reading.
The first point has to do with course content. John apparently uses
computers to teach about computers. The "medium is the message"
in his case. Nora does not mention the course content of the
Canadian experience. What I have read and experienced strongly
suggests that pedagogy (and technology) must fit the content. That
"one size fits all" seems to be bad advice.
The second idea springs, again from my experience and that of
many others; that is, what we heard at our mentors' knee is quite
true, "there are great differences among individual students." This is
still true and we still don't know quite what to do with that fact. It is
not a situation that is restricted to adult groups, or groups of mixed
ethnic/cultural background.
The third idea is that there is nothing new under the sun. Stephen
Brookfield ("The Skillful Teacher," 1990) reported his experience
teaching "discussion" courses. He got a terribly mixed reaction that
was remarkably similar to that reported by Nora. He did this
experiment, however, in the very early 1970s.
The fourth idea might be called "the insidious nature of
paradigms." Alan Cromer ("Connected Knowledge," 1997) warned
that many of the divisions and subdivisions and purported paradigms
reported in contemporary education are a matter of the richness of
the writer's imagination and may not represent anything real that you
could point to. "Paradigm" is a strong word. When one has been
developed, or discovered, the developer or discoverer is tempted to
believe that he/she has solved an educational problem. The older I
get the more I'm convinced that Jacques Barzun ("Begin Here,"
1991) was correct when he said that educating was not problem in
search of a solution, but simply a matter of teacher and students
trying to do things that were intrinsically difficult; teach and learn.
Bob
R.N. Leamnson
Prof. Biology
UMass Dartmouth
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