The cognitive science approach to learning strips it of it’s context and meaning to the student
Behaviorism assumes that it is external entities that control learning, and cognitive scientists measured learning through observation of natural learning or through tests in controlled settings. Both of these methods are still used today. Psychologists around the world design experiments in order to work out how people learn. These types of experiments frequently involve people learning useless information. It’s common for studies on memory, for example, to study people memorizing lists, or abstract patterns. This is to avoid the thorny problem of people already knowing the information they are meant to be learning. However, it means that learning is taken out of context and is often devoid of any meaning for the learner. The assumption is that the same factors will come into play when remembering meaningful information.
In order to do experiments on the processes of learning, psychologists had to ignore many of the things which made learning interesting, and also ignore a lot of what people were actually learning. Cognitive experiments on learning and memory are designed to focus on a particular question and, in order to do that, they simplify the situation down to the absolute basics. They strip learning of context in order to understand the underlying processes. This is useful however if that’s your aim. But when these theories are applied in education, there’s a tendency to ignore just how simplified the experiments were. This, i believe, is a major contribution to existential frustration among students these days.
Perhaps this is do to an overly left hemisphere perspective, as The left hemisphere sees things abstracted, isolated, and stripped of context. The lack of understanding the emotional context in this understanding of learning may also have to do with how the left hemisphere generally remains emotionally neutral. Also, the right hemisphere deals with real things that have meaning to us in the lived world. I also believe this approach to learning instills the same left hemisphere dominant mentality into students.
References
- Fisher, Naomi. (2021). Changing Our Minds Chapter 2. Learning – Scientists, Processors and Rats (p. ). London, UK: Robinson Publishing.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Politics / Education / Psychology Status:☀️