Learning

I purchased Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope and I am attempting to read it. It has been a little challenging so far because I am not so connected with American History. However, as I reflect on how I react to his writings I question how I learn and what makes me recall certain things over others. For example, in the book he mentions several politicians who he had to go against as well as prominent men in the history of politics. If someone were to ask me to recall the names mentioned I would only be able to recall the ones I was familiar with before like Clinton and Reagan. What has stuck with me is the way he views politics; the fact that he went in search of a personal understanding of the evolution of American politics and has deviated from the traditional divide between Democrats and Republicans. His approach is to look at the problem of the nation and devise the most appropriate solution.Anyone who is familiar with the book can probably tell that I have just completed chapter one.

Well being the Instructional Designer that am, I immediately started drawing analogies between his approach to politics with how we approach teaching and learning. I realized the impact of Schema theory which asserts that we learn by building networks with previous knowledge and new knowledge; this explains why it was so easy for me to recall the names that I was acquainted with before.
The other issue is with theory and practice. It is the belief of some that only one approach is right and apply that approach in all situations. Many of us in the field know that this will not achieve the best results as each situation is unique and should be treated accordingly.

On page 49 Obama says “Unless political leaders are open to new ideas and not just new packaging, we wont’ change enough hearts and minds….” This just made me think of educational technology and the many debates. The fact that has educators we truly have to examine the problem and not just aim to repackage face to face learning but we need to be innovative and develop new techniques especially for the current generation.

I guess I assimilate ideas more than bits and pieces of facts. How do you learn, what do you recall when you read? Do you find yourself always finding links between what you read and your areas of interests?