[P2P-F] Fwd: Wired : learner centered movement

Sat Oct 19 05:54:50 CEST 2013

Thank you June for correcting my apparent mis-interpretation of your reply.

I believe it can be part of an equipotential approach , defined in this way

http://p2pfoundation.net/Equipotentiality

a non-credentialist approach :
http://p2pfoundation.net/Anti-Credentialism

I remember the story of medieval universities emerging around libraries, as
a convergence amongst peers ?

Furthermore, I personally have the tendency to discourage the usage of the
word "education", preferring the concept of "learning".

A further potential I hope we can explore further is one of nomadic
learning.
Learning via contexts and situations, in interaction with a diverse set of
realities , encounters, influences.

Cordially,
Dante

On Fri, Oct 18, 2013 at 7:14 PM, June Gorman <june_gorman at sbcglobal.net>wrote:

> Hi Dante,
>
> I was in no way suggesting that you saw this as replacing humans with
> machines.  My caution is that there are several very powerful forces in the
> current models of education being promoted, many under the rubric of
> "education for sustainable development", that very much do have that exact
> long-term goal.  This in the US, is part of the issue on both sides of the
> eventual benefit/destruction controversy of public university models
> promoting the MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) by some of the top private
> universities in the US.  Currently offered many times for
> free.....but......in the future?  And at what loss to the basic premise of
> universities -- that people from different worlds, views and backgrounds
> come together in a "combustion" of these different ideas?  That often
> necessitates interpersonal listening and dynamics I haven't seen often well
> exemplified in truly difficult conversations, on the computers alone.
>
> In the individual case, like yours, many valid points do exist such as you
> say,
>
> "Such approaches have been central in my own learning - up to a point
> where I felt I could learn faster / feel less alienated in my learning by
> leaving school."
>
> Multiple modalities and ways of learning need to be open wide to all to
> access their preferred way of doing so, and the computer is among these.
>  Even Marco mentions an important one of these with the Boy Scout more
> Dewyan -- "learn by doing" -- model.  But all of these systematic models
> embody the mostly un-excavated and un-examined prejudices of their dominant
> instigators and thus in the clear case of the Boy Scouts -- discrimination
> against girls (handled by funding a separate sex organization in the Girl
> Guides) and the latest, against homosexuals.
>
> There are also some dominant Western "Enlightenment" and entitlement-based
> ideologies that systemized certainly sexist models of defining ways of most
> productive thinking and evening feminine/humanities/irrational/nature vs.
> masculine/science/rational/technology dichotomies with Father-Force and
> technology having the thus naturally accepted right to dominate and
> subjugate "Mother-nature".
>
> This is one reason many females under that system found it very difficult
> to proceed in their most productive-to-learn ways and style of learning,
> and one reason many "others" of different groups also find the computer
> less judgmental of what "intelligence" most mattered in these limited ways
> found in our standard educational "systems" and thus found it easier to
> learn on their own.  But my concern is that these still underlying
> judgments of the technological-dominant view of the world prevail and often
> remain, now with no dissenting "teachers" at all, and will thus be the only
> view children are "exposed to" at all, to what is most important to learn.
>
> That computers can add to this connecting and learning from others at all
> ages -- that I think is where your argument is very much more powerful.  I
> completely agree on that point, but it is still necessary to learn the most
> critical emotional/social/cultural intelligences for a sustainable
> (healthy, peaceful, caring and more equitable) world only interpersonally
> with others and critically when children are mostly "emotional" learners
> and thinkers -- when they are young and until the age of 10 -- before just
> letting the machines take over.
>
> Which again, is where some "educational policy leaders" are definitely
> headed, so much more "cost-effective" for getting "test-takers" taught on
> easily measurable quantitative and thus inherently reductive tests of what
> that "education" should encompass.  I was only arguing that despite its
> advantages, technology as systematic education can have some very negative
> outcomes and certainly cautions to consider as well.
>
> Warmly,
> June
>
>   ------------------------------
>  *From:* Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson at gmail.com>
> *To:* June Gorman <june_gorman at sbcglobal.net>; P2P Foundation mailing
> list <p2p-foundation at lists.ourproject.org>
> *Cc:* Myra Jackson <mljack19 at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Friday, October 18, 2013 9:20 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [P2P-F] Fwd: Wired : learner centered movement
>
>
> Hi June,
>
> Thanks for your reply,
>
> I personally do not see this as a replacement of humans by the machines.
>
> I rather see the internet as a powerful tool for access to information,
> both supporting and facilitated by dynamics between learners.
>
> I believe that the pedagogies it can be inspired of are that of Piaget,
> Montessori, ...
>
> And as Marco underlined, hardly any new self learning ( or mutual learning
> ) approaches.
>
> What is new, is possibly broader mainstream recognition, possibly
> supported by the more widespread usage and interconnection of information
> technologies globally, and in peoples lifestyles, facilitating a shift away
> of "the expert", or "the teacher" as monopoly in terms of knowledge.
>
> Such approaches have been central in my own learning - up to a point where
> I felt I could learn faster / feel less alienated in my learning by leaving
> school.
>
> The challenge, then, for me at least, is to build up recognition through
> networked approaches, with peers, rather then through top down ,
> centralized certification programs and education environments.
>
> Although one may argue that the tests could at some point confirm the
> acquired ( self ) learning, the self learner ( or rather, the mutual
> learners in self organizing approaches ) does not, contrary to official
> enrolled students, benefit from such "student" status, and at least in my
> experience, faces pressures from society, even if only in terms of lack of
> support.
>
> Cordially,
> Dante
>
>
> On Fri, Oct 18, 2013 at 1:37 PM, June Gorman <june_gorman at sbcglobal.net>wrote:
>
> Dante-Gabryell --
>
> This is wonderful stuff.  I know of Mitra's work and find it exciting.
>  Some of us in the UN Commons Cluster are working on these ideas as well
> and how they fit into education of and about all the Commons.
>
> But as a 30+ year (Western-US) teacher and the founder of the *<http://209.172.54.115/>MailScanner
> has detected a possible fraud attempt from "209.172.54.115" claiming to be Transformative
> Education Forum *, I would caution at the over-enthusiasm of the
> computer-focused translation of this idea of "learner-centered".  It is
> clearly an amazing and freeing tool in countless ways besides providing the
> "Library of the World" to any child, nearly anywhere with access to one.
>  But it reduces dangerously the historical, pedagogical and epistemological
> theories of learning and the human child themselves, down to dangerously
> reductive concepts of what in fact is most important "to learn".  Whose
> "information" gets processed and with what underlying results?
>
> It is one of my deepest concerns with the over-promotion of STEM (Science,
> Technology, Engineering and Math) in the Western world, dramatically by
> "education promoting companies" who want to sell this model to everyone
> else as the US is currently doing promoting "No Child Left Behind"
> worldwide through the World Bank and Brookings Institute.  But for those of
> us in the education field all our life, there is definite need to examine
> these issues, like certain brain theory results accompanying early child
> exposure to computers as their dominant learner - interaction.  The TEF
> tries to address this issue of needed complete intelligence development
> with arts, humanities and especially the social/cultural/emotional learning
> not developed with this priority or technological "default".
>
> Anyway, more is available on this on the TEF website, but particularly the
> *MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "209.172.54.115"
> claiming to be* TEF Principles<http://209.172.54.115/web/guest/principles>.
>  There is a serious caution here about just how much and what exactly, the
> "machines" can and do teach when used primarily? So much cheaper though,
> for those trying to go into the field of education for their own profit and
> on top of it, leaves out those more philosophical, even human justice and
> equity arguments that actually really matter for children around the world
> to ultimately make sense of their lives and societies.
>
> Best,
> June
> *June Gorman, Educator and Educational Theorist*
> Co-founder*, ** <http://209.172.54.115/>MailScanner has detected a
> possible fraud attempt from "209.172.54.115" claiming to be Transformative
> Education Forum (note website re-work, so ignore "non-standard"
> notification :-)*
> Education Advisor,  <http://www.safepla.net/>
> *UN SafePlanet Campaign *
> *Board Project Director for Outreach, I**nternational Model United
> Nations Association* <http://imuna.org/>* *
> *Steering Committee, (UNESCO/Global Compact) **K-12 Sector for
> Sustainability Education *<http://www.uspartnership.org/main/view_archive/1>
> Member, UN Education Caucus for Sustainable Development
> Member, UN Commons Cluster
>
>
>   ------------------------------
>  *From:* Michel Bauwens <michel at p2pfoundation.net>
> *To:* p2p-foundation <p2p-foundation at lists.ourproject.org>
> *Sent:* Friday, October 18, 2013 4:03 AM
> *Subject:* [P2P-F] Fwd: Wired : learner centered movement
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: *Dante-Gabryell Monson* <dante.monson at gmail.com>
> Date: Fri, Oct 18, 2013 at 2:16 AM
> Subject: Wired : learner centered movement
> To: "econowmix at googlegroups.com" <econowmix at googlegroups.com>, "
> netention-dev at googlegroups.com" <netention-dev at googlegroups.com>, "
> global-survival at googlegroups.com" <global-survival at googlegroups.com>
>
>
> http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/free-thinkers/*
> *
> *a new breed of educators, inspired by everything from the Internet to
> evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, and AI, are inventing radical new
> ways for children to learn, grow, and thrive. To them, knowledge isn’t a
> commodity that’s delivered from teacher to student but something that
> emerges from the students’ own curiosity-fueled exploration.*
> entire article : http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/free-thinkers/all/
> *student centered movement :
> http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/student-centered-movement/*
> " TED has created a toolkit full of ideas for jumpstarting
> student-centered learning in your home, local community, or school. It’s
> called SOLE: How to Bring Self-Organized Learning Environments to Your
> Community. Download it here <http://www.ted.com/pages/sole_toolkit> and
> share your story afterward on the SOLE Tumblr <http://tedsole.tumblr.com/>
> ."
> further large excerpts :
> Teachers provide prompts, not answers, and then they step aside so
> students can teach themselves and one another. They are creating ways for
> children to discover their passion—and uncovering a generation of geniuses
> in the process.
> ...
> “If you put a computer in front of children and remove all other adult
> restrictions, they will self-organize around it,” Mitra says, “like bees
> around a flower.”
> A charismatic and convincing proselytizer, Mitra has become a darling in
> the tech world. In early 2013 he won a $1 million grant from TED, the
> global ideas conference, to pursue his work.
> He’s now in the process of establishing seven “schools in the cloud,” five
> in India and two in the UK. In India, most of his schools are single-room
> buildings. There will be no teachers, curriculum, or separation into age
> groups—just six or so computers and a woman to look after the kids’ safety.
> His defining principle: “The children are completely in charge.”
> Mitra argues that the information revolution has enabled a style of
> learning that wasn’t possible before.
> ...
> Mitra’s work has roots in educational practices dating back to Socrates.
> Theorists from Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi to Jean Piaget and Maria
> Montessori have argued that students should learn by playing and following
> their curiosity.
> ...
> In recent years, researchers have begun backing up those theories with
> evidence. In a 2011 study, scientists at the University of Illinois at
> Urbana-Champaign and the University of Iowa scanned the brain activity of
> 16 people sitting in front of a computer screen.
> ...
> The study found that when the subjects controlled their own observations,
> they exhibited more coordination between the hippocampus and other parts of
> the brain involved in learning and posted a 23 percent improvement in their
> ability to remember objects. “The bottom line is, if you’re not the one
> who’s controlling your learning, you’re not going to learn as well,” says
> lead researcher Joel Voss, now a neuroscientist at Northwestern University.
> ...
> A similar study at UC Berkeley demonstrated that kids given no instruction
> were much more likely to come up with novel solutions to a problem. “The
> science is brand-new, but it’s not as if people didn’t have this intuition
> before,” says coauthor Alison Gopnik, a professor of psychology at UC
> Berkeley.
> Gopnik’s research is informed in part by advances in artificial
> intelligence. If you program a robot’s every movement, she says, it can’t
> adapt to anything unexpected. But when scientists build machines that are
> programmed to try a variety of motions and learn from mistakes, the robots
> become far more adaptable and skilled. The same principle applies to
> children, she says.
> ...
> Evolutionary psychologists have also begun exploring this way of thinking.
> Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College who studies children’s
> natural ways of learning, argues that human cognitive machinery is
> fundamentally incompatible with conventional schooling. Gray points out
> that young children, motivated by curiosity and playfulness, teach
> themselves a tremendous amount about the world. And yet when they reach
> school age, we supplant that innate drive to learn with an imposed
> curriculum. “We’re teaching the child that his questions don’t matter, that
> what matters are the questions of the curriculum. That’s just not the way
> natural selection designed us to learn. It designed us to solve problems
> and figure things out that are part of our real lives.”
> Some school systems have begun to adapt to this new philosophy—with
> outsize results. In the 1990s, Finland pared the country’s elementary math
> curriculum from about 25 pages to four, reduced the school day by an hour,
> and focused on independence and active learning. By 2003, Finnish students
> had climbed from the lower rungs of international performance rankings to
> first place among developed nations.
> ...
> Juárez Correa had mixed feelings about the test. His students had
> succeeded because he had employed a new teaching method, one better suited
> to the way children learn. It was a model that emphasized group work,
> competition, creativity, and a student-led environment. So it was ironic
> that the kids had distinguished themselves because of a conventional
> multiple-choice test. “These exams are like limits for the teachers,” he
> says. “They test what you know, not what you can do, and I am more
> interested in what my students can do.”
> ...
> But these examples—involving only thousands of students—are the exceptions
> to the rule. The system as a whole educates millions and is slow to
> recognize or adopt successful innovation. It’s a system that was
> constructed almost two centuries ago to meet the needs of the industrial
> age. Now that our society and economy have evolved beyond that era, our
> schools must also be reinvented.
> ...
> *Want to help teachers like Sergio Juárez Correa make a difference?
> Here’s how you can get involved in the student-centered movement<http://www.wired.com/business/2013/10/student-centered-movement/>
> .*
>
>
>
> --
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