Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

This article has two good points to make about learning. It notes that while we all have the ability to learn because "learning is what our brains do", we differ in our capacity to learn. The two good points follow. The first is that it makes sense to understand an individual's cognitive skills. You might know them as learning styles, though I would characterize them as critical literacies. Second is "to help develop individual students' cognitive skills so that those skills are simply there to use and support them in learning." Now there's a lot of populist theory here, as critics are quick to point out. But we can say that people are better or worse at logic or reading, etc., and we can identify ways to help their learning by supporting these skills. But beware the snake oil, like 'executive function', 'growth mindset', or 'cognitive flexibility'.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Mar 29, 2024 07:30 a.m.

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