"The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind,
but how to get old ones out." --- Dee Hock, business visionary and
creator of Visa
I saw a video where graduates of a major university, still in their caps
and gowns, were asked to describe why on earth it is cooler in the winter
and warmer in the summer. Most of them described theories that the earth
is a lot closer to the sun in the summer and further away in the winter.
These ideas apparently pre-date any formal education --- the kind of
things kids think up to explain mysteries. The conclusion of the video
producers was that it is not enough to simply offer new information to
students. First, the old, inaccurate information must be removed.
I would go a step further and suggest that the old way of seeing things
must be destroyed to make room for the new. I'm beginning to envision a
learning sequence that first destroys misconceptions, before presenting
the "true" ideas. Theoretically, creating a vacuum is a good way to get
things into a container. I don't want to be mechanistic about this. (How
about botanistic?) Wrong ideas are kind of like dandelions which reappear
in the wake of the lawn mower. Perhaps corporate training programs should
begin with an assessment of what folks already know that "just ain't so"
(to paraphrase Will Rogers, or Mark Twain...my own mind is a vacuum). The
next step is an all out assault, or perhaps a clever infiltration of the
enemy camp to undermine the fortress. But remember, even if you yank all
the dandelions out, if a little root remains it may reappear.
Grace & Peace,
Scott Ott
scottott@mailexcite.com
http://visitweb.com/scottott
--"Scott Ott" <SOTT@nkcsd.k12.mo.us>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>