MEANINGFUL LEARNING
Is there anything that surprises you? What is it?
The Intentional (Goal-Oriented/Regulatory) section surprises me. The main idea of this subtopic says, “All human behavior is goal directed” (Schank, 1994). I disagree with this statement. I think there are some instances when people move on what I call “autopilot”. When your body is on “autopilot”, movements are natural and they kind of happen on their own before you get a chance to really think about the actions being taken. In these situations, there is no goal. There is just movement. For instance, have you ever done something simple and when asked why you did it, your reply was something like “I don’t know. It just happened”? Therefore, I do not think it is fair to assume that “all” human behavior is goal directed, as there are always exceptions to every rule.
Which of the skills described in this chapter are most important to you as an educator? Which are most important to comprehending and being able to apply ideas in your discipline?
I believe the section titled Authentic (Complex/Contextual) is the most important. The reading states, “…teachers and professors remove those ideas from their natural contexts in order to be able to cover the curriculum more efficiently. When they do, they strip those principles of the contextual cues that make them meaningful”. In other words, it is each educator’s job to dissect curricula so that the students can understand the concepts of the material to pass standardized testing. This is because information expected to be taught in schools is too broad and there is not enough time in the school year to teach all of it. There have been many classes where we did not discuss or review the whole book. Instead, we skipped over chapters to get to the more essential chapters, or the chapters that we would be tested on.
Is there anything that surprises you? What is it?
The Intentional (Goal-Oriented/Regulatory) section surprises me. The main idea of this subtopic says, “All human behavior is goal directed” (Schank, 1994). I disagree with this statement. I think there are some instances when people move on what I call “autopilot”. When your body is on “autopilot”, movements are natural and they kind of happen on their own before you get a chance to really think about the actions being taken. In these situations, there is no goal. There is just movement. For instance, have you ever done something simple and when asked why you did it, your reply was something like “I don’t know. It just happened”? Therefore, I do not think it is fair to assume that “all” human behavior is goal directed, as there are always exceptions to every rule.
Which of the skills described in this chapter are most important to you as an educator? Which are most important to comprehending and being able to apply ideas in your discipline?
I believe the section titled Authentic (Complex/Contextual) is the most important. The reading states, “…teachers and professors remove those ideas from their natural contexts in order to be able to cover the curriculum more efficiently. When they do, they strip those principles of the contextual cues that make them meaningful”. In other words, it is each educator’s job to dissect curricula so that the students can understand the concepts of the material to pass standardized testing. This is because information expected to be taught in schools is too broad and there is not enough time in the school year to teach all of it. There have been many classes where we did not discuss or review the whole book. Instead, we skipped over chapters to get to the more essential chapters, or the chapters that we would be tested on.
I appreciate your creative view on whether or not all human behavior is goal oriented and your explanation of 'auto pilot.' I also value your input on the teacher's process and how important it is for them to actually understand what is valuable in the material, as opposed to teaching straight from the tests.
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