Comments on comments

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Bob Leamnson (RLEAMNSON@umassd.edu)
Mon, 02 Aug 1999 10:35:01 -0400 (EDT) 

Date: Mon, 02 Aug 1999 10:35:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bob Leamnson <RLEAMNSON@umassd.edu>
Subject: Comments on comments

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First of all, kudos to Crispin Weston for his erudite defense of truly
authentic knowledge. His reflections show how diffuse and fuzzy
our thinking can get when we treat words carelessly.

I would like to comment again (briefly this time) on "learning styles"
as brought up by Marcia Pereira.
1) It has not been demonstrated to my satisfaction that "learning
styles" map onto people rather than to subject or content being
learned.
2) How many learning styles are there? This depends on the
imagination of the inventor. If learning styles were brute realities
then all investigators would "discover" the same number and the
same categories.
3) Has anyone reported a verifiable and reproducible way to use the
idea of multiple learning styles in a real classroom?
4) Has anyone demonstrated that chemistry or poetry can either be
learned using a multiplicity of learning styles?

Finally, a comment on a word used by Peter French and very, very
frequently by others.

When I teach photosynthesis for the 21st time this fall I will of
necessity repeat what has been known for many years about that
subject and to people who are just as confused by it as their 2,000
predecessors. I'm mildly upset to have this referred to as
"regurgitation." Those of you who can recite Robert Frost's poem
"Stopping by a woods on a snowy night," I ask you to do it right
now. When done, say "I just regurgitated."

Bob Leamnson
UMass Dartmouth

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