Learning to me has always been a moving, dynamic,
continuous progression. I am a visual learner, so I like defining learning by
thinking of wooden building blocks. We learn by doing, reading, or having the
"experts" (teachers, mentors, etc.) give us the tools or language
that we need to succeed by engaging in the material that eventually form our
building blocks. However, it is through reflection and inquiry that we
strengthen our knowledge of the material. This is similar to the portion of the
"Theory in Context" lecture in which the professor explained,
"Building understanding through inquiry" where she discussed her own
personal theoretical position. She also goes on to talk about providing the
tools and language and building on the prior knowledge of the person who is
learning. Therefore, I believe a transfer of knowledge does take place because
when one is born they know nothing, but as they learn one builds on that
previous knowledge. As the book, How
People Learn states, "All new learning involves transfer based on
previous learning, and this fact has important implications for the design of
instruction that helps students learn" (2000, p. 53). Once somebody has
been able to apply what one has learned the transfer of knowledge has taken
place and the person can embrace that building block into their collection of
knowledge to build upon. Therefore, by adding that block to one's collection one
can build different things with the knowledge they have collected and that past
knowledge will help them learn future things. By taking it one step further if
the person is able to explain the concept or whatever is being taught to that
person, they have taken another transformation. They have become an expert in
that field and are now able to transfer that knowledge to others through
mentoring and teaching.
My personal example of this transfer of knowledge
would be going back to my learning map with Government Documents. (My learning
map will be a post for another time) Even though I am self taught and need to
spend more time reflecting and learning from experts, I have learned enough to
have the basic learning blocks. My boss at work now wants me to explain and
transfer that knowledge to train a co-worker how to process Government
Documents.
In summary learning to me means one has gained
enough knowledge to increase their number of building blocks and can apply
these building blocks to accomplish what they set out to learn.
So, how do you define learning? Is it a transfer of
knowledge? Does my building block metaphor make sense? Is there a difference
between application and explaining?
