Flower-ology!

While the study of learning has dropped off the radar for many years, recently there has been a renew interest in this field (Papert, 1993; Siegler, 2000). Siegler (2000) summarized these four consistent findings on learning that emerged through microgenetic studies: a) change is gradual, b) discoveries follow success as well as failure, c) early variability is related to later learning, and d) discoveries are constrained by conceptual understanding. I observed the four findings by Siegler in Papert's description of his learning experiences in the study of flowers:

Change is gradual. It took Papert several years to become familiarize with the many flowers he regularly came in contact with. At first he was using strategies that he was taught in school, but slowly he learned to make etymology connections, which was an effective strategy for him.

Discoveries follow success as well as failures. This is obvious for Papert as he discovered new strategies after previous strategies failed to make the necessary connection that he needed. He also began to finely hone these new strategies.

Early variability is related to later learning. Papert took the time to learn about flowers and in the beginning he used many different strategies to help him learn. Due to his persistence, that involved abandoning ineffective strategies and adopting new useful strategies, his learning increased.

Discoveries are constrained by conceptual understanding. The strategies that Papert used may not make sense if he did not have the conceptual understanding of the subject matter. If he had developed a faulty conceptual understanding that the name of the flower must directly relate to the shape of the flower, he would have a tough time trying to make the connections later on.

The first time I read Papert’s description of his learning experiences it did not make any impression on me. But when I think of my own learning experiences, I find that it is not easy to describe these experiences. It would take a lot of thinking and even then, my description would not have been as fluent. And it is then that I began to appreciate the article and realized that I have yet to fully understand how I learn or even take the time to reflect on my learning experiences.

References

Papert, S. (1993). The Children's Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer. New York: BasicBooks.

Siegler, R.S. (2000). The rebirth of children’s learning. Child Development, 71, 26-35.