Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ What's the Secret to Learning? It's Belonging

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

There's a lot of stuff going on in this article that leads directly to the misconception highlighted in the title. The core argument is based on this observation by Myra Laldin: "When students feel as if they do not belong in a school setting, the cognitive energy that should be used on social engagement and learning is being used to scan for group barriers, discrimination and stereotypes." The best I can conclude from these two articles is that 'effective learning in a social classroom setting requires first setting up an environment of belonging', which to me could be as effective as an argument against employing a social classroom setting, because there's all this emotional overhead to consider. Assuming there's such a thing as 'cognitive energy', it doesn't follow that 'belonging' is the answer. It could well be that removing the social setting that's causing so much stress would be equally effective.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
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Last Updated: Apr 28, 2024 10:49 p.m.

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