Replying to LO30333 --
Dear Organlearners,
Keith Cowan < keith.cowan@ytasp.net > wrote
>Well thank you once again At. You have this ability to make
>us think. The notion of imparting mastery and categorizing that
>as knowledge is fascinating. I know that I chose Engineering
>as a field of study because it forced a demonstration of
>knowledge acquisition rather than the regurgitating of information.
>I did not appreciate the differences at the time.
Greetings dear Keith,
Thank you for your delightful contribution.
It was much the same with me. In 1964 i changed my intended degree in
Chemical Technology (CT) into one on the basics of physics and chemistry.
The reason was that the CT professor insisted that nothing in CT has to be
understood -- just memorise and regurgitate what has been accomplished and
has become the standard. I merely reacted according to my tacit knowledge,
not being able to articulate it then.
But in 1968, while doing research on soils, it struck me first what
difference there is between knowledge and information. The more complex a
research topic, the more important knowledge becomes while the less use
information has.
>The results of the course were incredible high ratings for the
>hands-on practical nature of the material. I saw some
>implementations that were truly ingenious. I learned from the
>students in ways I never imagined. They worked in teams
>and learned from each other. And I ended up finishing my
>portion of the project two months ahead of schedule. A big
>part of that was the result of doing that course in the middle.
I have had similar experiences. Give students a free hand to improve and
they will surprise their lecturer with their ingenuity from which he/she
can learn much. This is a major difference between a mentor and a
lecturer. The mentor allows the mentee full creativity and only steps in
afterwards to reflect on what has been done. I cannot see any other way
how mastrey can be attained.
>I suppose, At, now that you have caused me to reflect on
>this experience, that it incorporated some key aspects of OBE
>and LO. What do you think? Am I on the right track with this
>line of thinking?
I do not know whether it is the right track, but i do know that you are on
the same track as i am. Based on the few who follow this track, it has to
be wrong ;-)
With care and best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@postino.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
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