Muhammad Betz (mbetz@sosu.edu)
Wed, 18 Aug 1999 09:59:52 -0500
From: "Muhammad Betz" <mbetz@sosu.edu> Subject: Second Summary of Biological Learning Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1999 09:59:52 -0500
List address to send message to everyone: ifets-discuss@LISTSERV.READADP.COM
Details of current discussion: http://grouper.ieee.org/ltsc/ifets/discussions/discuss.html
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear IFETS readers:
The discussion on "Instructional Technologies and the Biological Basis of
Learning," a paper written by Professor Robert (Bob) Leamnson, began on
August 9, 1999, and will end on August 20, 1999. The group of related
messages posted since the first summary of August 12, 1999, is summarized
below.
Young S. Kim observed that postings on this discussion equated 'learning' to
information' retention, and commented that emphasis should be shifted from
retaining information to learning the skills to acquire information as
needed.
Crispin Westin responds to a point made by discussion moderator in reference
to Crispin's earlier comment that listening is a passive activity, Professor
Leamnson, that attentive listening is an active process. Crispin notes that
for a skilled listener or reader, the act of listening or reading is active,
but not so for the unskilled. Crispin's point is that knowledge = encoding
+ retrieval, and that retrieval depends upon the organization of neural
pathways. In order to ensure the capacity for retrieval of information,
ways of encoding must be considered. He concludes that the chances for
retrieval are improved if there is practice for retrieval at the initial
episode of encoding.
Martin Owen points readers to a valuable source on biological learning,
i.e., "The Tree of Knowledge," by Humberto Maturana and E. Valera. Martin
implies that brain learning/considerations do not exist outside a social
context.
Bernard Colo comments on statements by Bob and Crispin, and asserts that
teaching should incorporate three levels of learning, cognitive, affective,
and psychomotor. Ensuring learning from these three levels imprints
information into long term storage, and if that information was imprinted in
a manner related to the learners' experience, it can be more easily
retrieved
Bob Leamnson moderates the discussion by relating recent postings to brain
functions. With respect to Crispin's assertion that capacity to retrieve
knowledge is based on more than receiving information, Bob refers to his
earlier assertion (see his original paper) that initial learning creates
labile brain synapses that become 'hard-wired' with use. Bob distinguishes
between 'hearing' and 'listening' and asserts that 'listening' is always
active. Bob considers 'retrieval' to be another attempt at 'hard-wiring,'
but goes on to mention the unsolved problem of 'forgetting.' Bob closes by
referring to the limbic system, the brain component associated with
emotions. He states that the limbic system is linked to other brain modules
and accounts for the relationship between learning and emotions.
Finally, Bill Klemm, Professor of Neuroscience, comments on the scenario of
a student listening and taking notes. Klemm asserts that the student
remembers little because the brain is distracted by the mechanics of note
taking and that so-called unconscious learning during the event is minimal.
This unconscious knowledge, or procedural learning, requires even more
extensive rehearsal for retention than conscious knowledge.
End of Summary #2. August 18, 1999.
Muhammad Betz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Educational Instruction & Leadership
Southeastern Oklahoma State University
(580)924-0121 x2326
fax:(580)920-5708
mbetz@sosu.edu
www.sosu.edu/ebs/eil/faculty
---------------------------------------------------------
Forum website: http://ifets.gmd.de/
Forum's contact person: kinshuk@ieee.org
Info on Join/Leave List: http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html
---------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu 19 Aug 1999 - 01:47:36 MEST