What is learning?
Is learning a finite idea? Do we every get there? In our technological world now there is so much information that it may appear that answers to questions are less clear cut than maybe 10 or more years ago. I think our mindset though is fixated on one right answer for all questions. And we find what we think is that one right answer and hang on to it. When we hear things that don’t seem to jive with that one answer, we discount it, and say that it must be wrong.
And here is where learning comes into the picture. Learning, I think, is a cycle of dialog and questioning. Even if what we hear isn’t in sync with what we think, we should ask questions so two things can happen: our own thinking can be clarified (or challenged) and we can have a better understanding of what another view on the subject might be.
Learning is very personal. And we each have a slightly different understanding of issues and topics from another person. We should seek out those opportunities to value those differences and better understand our own ideas and those of others. People who discount the ideas or perspectives of other people are not learners, they are victims of a mindset that they find difficult to change.
How does this relate to education? As teachers, we need to question, constantly seeking to understand our students and to teach them what true learning is. We shouldn’t be about instilling our opinions, but sharing our knowledge and letting people make of it what they will. But by asking the right questions, we can avoid judging or reducing the understandings that others have.
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