Bob Leamnson (RLEAMNSON@umassd.edu)
Thu, 11 Feb 1999 10:11:36 -0500 (EST)
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 10:11:36 -0500 (EST) From: Bob Leamnson <RLEAMNSON@umassd.edu> Subject: Kudos
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I would like to compliment Peter Arashiro on his excellent insight
into, and articulation of, a problem that I consider central in
education.
Elaine had asked why is there a need to isolate teaching and
learning and thereby pit instructional strategy against learning style.
Peter recast this as a question of responsibilities. As our kids say,
"bingo!" Education is a two-body problem. Somebody has to lead,
and do it competently, and somebody has to follow, and do that
competently. As Peter noted, one cannot simply dump the
responsibility for metacognition onto naive learners.
I would only disagree on one small point. I don't think that the
instructional camp would agree that "responsibility" for learning lies
entirely with the instructional strategy. How could this be so? The
teacher cannot literally "cause" learning. Peter has hit on the two-
body problem quite perceptively. When a teacher enters a classroom
both teaching and learning are supposed to go on, but they are the
activities of different people. For the two parties to do their best,
each activity (teaching and learning) needs to be studied and
understood as best we can. But this does not in any way mean that
they must be considered always as a single entity, just because they
go on at the same time. To try to understand teaching in isolation
from learning, and vice versa, does not in any way pit one against the
other. In the natural sciences isolating the variables and considering
their effect one at a time is the only way progress is ever made. I
think there is a lesson there.
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