Learning Principles LO513 (was: Gossip)

Emily Myers (emyers@ccantares.wcupa.edu)
Wed, 22 Mar 1995 07:41:46 -0500 (EST)

L-O folks,
Below is a message posted by Ted Kahn listing the Seven Principles of
Learning as described by the folks at IRL (Institute for Research on
Learning). The ideas might be woven in the fabric of this conversation as
gossip, recording history, long distance learning, and schools threads.
The principles resonate as "I *knew* that" and now that you have said it
"I *know* that."
Emily
Emily R. Myers
Mobius Project
emyers@ccantares.wcupa.edu

---------- Forwarded message ----------

<delete>

If people are interested in how we are applying these principles to
network-based learning and the emerging NII, please feel free to contact me;
there are a couple of papers I have written (one entitled, "Re-thinking the
NII: Where is the learning we have lost in information?") and one
particularly interesting study on re-thinking the notion of "distance" in
distance learning for engineering teams in a major high tech company work
environment.

I'd be very interested in your feedback about these.

Ted M. Kahn
Senior Research Scientist and Technology Development Strategist
Institute for Research on Learning (IRL)
2550 Hanover St.
Palo Alto, CA
(415) 496-7919
<Ted_Kahn@irl.org>
-------------------------------------------

Title: What and Where is Learning?

(Excerpts from A New Learning Agenda: "Putting People First." Palo Alto,
CA: Institute for Research on Learning, 1993.)

"Our research at IRL has led us to articulate Seven Principles of
learning-principles that present a serious challenge to the usual,
"comfortable" view of learning that dominates our institutions. These
principles call for change in schooling and workplace practice. They also
call for a change in the way we view and develop learning and learning
environments, and for change in the direction of policy and research.

1. LEARNING IS FUNDAMENTALLY SOCIAL. The choice between learning and social
fulfillment-a choice that dominates most schools and workplaces-should never
arise.

2. KNOWLEDGE IS INTEGRATED INTO THE LIFE OF COMMUNITIES. Knowledge,
activity and social relations are closely intertwined.

3. LEARNING IS AN ACT OF MEMBERSHIP. Learning is not just the activity of a
sole individual, but the primary vehicle for engagement with others.

4. KNOWING IS ENGAGEMENT IN PRACTICE. Only in the classroom is knowledge
presented in the abstract, and only in the classroom are people expected to
demonstrate knowledge through abstract performances.

5. ENGAGEMENT IS INSEPARABLE FROM EMPOWERMENT. Individuals perceive their
identities in terms of their ability to contribute-and in terms of their
contributions-to a community.

6. "FAILURE" TO LEARN IS THE NORMAL RESULT OF EXCLUSION FROM PARTICIPATION.
Learning requires access and opportunity.

7. WE ALREADY HAVE A SOCIETY OF LIFELONG LEARNERS. People are learning all
the time, but what they are learning is not necessarily in their best
interests or in the best interests of society."

Founded in 1987 with the generous assistance of the Xerox Foundation, The
Institute for Research on Learning (IRL) is a non-profit institute dedicated
to the understanding and enhancement of learning in a wide range of settings.
IRL conducts its research via a series of multidisciplinary teams-comprising
nearly forty full, part-time, and affiliate research scientists-working
together to probe the process of learning in all its complexity. IRL's
unique research power comes form a combination of insights and methods from
fields as diverse as anthropology, computer science, education, linguistics,
and psychology.

IRL pursues its research in partnership with schools, workplaces, and
communities that are seeking to transform themselves into environments for
learning. Our research questions are based in real world problems, and the
results of our research are clearly relevant to these problems.

IRL combines research and learning by involving members of its participating
communities in research, and in the design of innovative and
self-perpetuating environments for learning. Collaboration with partners
ensures a fuller perspective and lessens the gap between research and
"application."

For copies of IRL's "Seven Principles of Learning" and a list of other
documentation and research reports, please contact:

Karna Chumney
Institute for Research on Learning (IRL)
2550 Hanover St.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
(415) 496-7932
Fax: (415) 496-7957
<Karna_Chumney@irl.org>