Bill Braun (medprac@hlthsys.com)
Sun, 29 Nov 1998 08:42:23 -0500
Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1998 08:42:23 -0500 From: Bill Braun <medprac@hlthsys.com> Subject: Re: [ifets] Still more
I would argue that reductionistic thinking is a strong contributing factor
to misunderstandings about teaching and learning. By misunderstanding in
this case I mean how any one of us sees things versus how any other of us
sees things - a difference of opinion.
Expansionistic thinking on the other hand reveals the scope of
interdependent interactions between the parts (could be people, teams,
organizations, communities, class rooms, etc.) that explain the behavior of
the whole. It is the reason why the expression "the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts" is true.
Reductionistic thinking, in the process of isolating the part to be
studied, rules out the interdependent relationships the part has with the
other parts of the whole. While we can gain a lot of knowledge about a
part when it is studied in isolation, our understanding of the dynamics of
the whole is not only made more difficult, but the likelihood of reaching
erroneous conclusions is pretty high.
Bill Braun
At 10:14 AM 11/28/1998 -0500, Bob Leamnson wrote:
> Some of my postings seem to be leaving the impression that I'm
>a Luddite and opposed to new and interesting things, or that I don't
>appreciate the many social, physical, and environmental elements
>that often accompany learning. I don't think either of these is true.
>But I am something of a reductionist and prefer to hold everything
>constant (at least pretend it is) while studying one aspect of a
>problem. Could we agree that learning is brain change on the part
>of the learner, no matter the environment providing the input?
>With that as a given, each environmental factor's contribution can
>be considered.
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