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This article explores the personal, socio-cultural, and physical dimensions of learning, highlighting the importance of free-choice learning and the factors that contribute to learning outcomes. It discusses changing models of learning and emphasizes the contextual nature of learning. The article also emphasizes the role of subsequent reinforcing experiences in the learning process.
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Understanding the Personal, Socio-Cultural and Physical Dimensions of Learning John H. Falk, Ph.D. Lynn D. Dierking, Ph.D. Institute for Learning Innovation Annapolis, MD
Macro View: • We live in a Learning Society; Learning is 24/7 • Less than 3% of our lives are spent participating in formal instruction. • Children spend 85% of their waking hours outside of school. • Most of what we learn, we learn through free-choice learning.
11:00 PM 7:00 PM 3:00 PM 11:00 AM 7:00 AM TIME College K-12 2 4 6 8 10 12 MONTHS 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 LIFE SPAN
Science Centres & Museums Learning Infrastructure Print Media (Books, Magazines, Newspapers Internet Schools & Universities Friends & Family Electronic Media (TV, radio, film) Faith-based Organizations Libraries Workplace Community Organizations
Micro View: • We currently know quite a bit about the nature of learning; learning not the way we used to think it was. • We also currently know quite a bit about the factors that significantly contribute to learning. • We are just beginning to understand how these multiple factors individually and collectively interact to determine the course and nature of learning.
Changing Models • Behaviorist-Positivist Model • Known Learner + Known Intervention = Known Learning Outcome (Learning Passive Process of Responding to a Stimulus in a Controlled Environment) • Constructivist-Relativist Model • Unique Learner + Constructs Meaning from Interventions = Multiple Learning Outcomes (Learning Active Process of Making Meaning in a Complex Real World)
What is the nature of LEARNING? • Learning begins with the individual. • Learning involves others. • Learning takes place somewhere. • Learning occurs over time.
Personal Context • Prior Knowledge and Experience • Prior Interest • Expectations and Motivations • Perceived Choice and Control
Socio-Cultural Context • Cultural Values • Within group social interactions • Interactions with others outside of social group (e.g., teachers, guides, other visitors)
Physical Context • Orientation • Advance Organizers • Nature of Physical Environment • Design of Educational Intervention
Time Don’t underestimate the importance of subsequent reinforcing (and non-reinforcing) experiences!
Brain, Body & World “Intelligence and understanding are rooted not in the presence and manipulation of explicit, language-like data structures, but in something more earthy: the tuning of basic responses to a real world that enables an embodied organism to sense, act and survive.” Andy Clark, 1997, Being There: Putting brain, body and world together again.