Prioritizing Who for Formal Learning LO20581

AM de Lange (amdelange@gold.up.ac.za)
Fri, 5 Feb 1999 17:10:31 +0200

Replying to LO20563 --

Dear Organlearners,

Diane Rumley <rumleyd@mailnet.hcc.tas.gov.au> writes:

>By using the word "learning" in this context, I am trying to
>indicate that learining happens in students heads and is
>someway owned and of benefit to the individual as well as
>industry. "Training" by contrast, seems to be something that
>is done to you, perhaps for the good of someone else.
>
>In short I suppose that I am trying to indicate my philosophical
>leanings to being student centred and my underlying motive to
>be emancipatory or humanistic in my approach.

Greetings Diane,

This is just a short note to tell you how much I have enjoyed your
contribution. Keep up with it.

The kind of learning which you refer to, can be described as
irreversible self-organisation in order to adapt to a changing world.
I prefer to think of it as authentic learning. It consists of two
major phases, namely emergent learning and digestive learning.

Let us think about the information profile which is administered by
training to a student. Where did this information in the profile came
from? Through the previous training of the trainer. And where did the
information in the profile of the trainer as trainee came from? Was
this information merely laying around through the ages?

Where did the information originally came from? It was made available
by authentic learners! Consequently authentic learning can also be
described as an original learning experience. The information profile
may be old and known to millions of people. But the learner have to
acquire it through experiences unique to that learner. From this
experential knowledge inside the learner emerges tacit knowledge. The
inner tacit knowledge then emerges to formal knowledge. Only with this
inner formal knowledge is the learner able to formulate new outer bits
of information.

Authentic learning is for the indiviual while training is the
fictituous alternative for the masses. When will the masses learn?

Best wishes

-- 

At de Lange <amdelange@gold.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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