How Do We Learn?

We were given an assignment for class this week to find articles and/or other blogs discussing the brain and learning, information processing theory, and problem-solving methods during the learning process.  After researching the school's library site, the following journal article by Szirony et al. (2007) was found which discusses the brain and vocational choices.  This journal article is an interesting discussion as to how we make the choices we make when deciding on a career.

Brain Hemisphere Dominance and Vocational Preference: A Preliminary Analysis

This journal article discusses John Holland's career theory which has been the leading influence in applied psychology for over 40 years.  His theory is based on 4 suppositions:

     1. Individuals fall into 1 of 6 personality types: realistic, investigative,
         artistic, social, enterprising, or conventional

     2. Like people, environments fall into 1 of the aforementioned 6 types

     3. Individuals will actively seek out environments that match their
         personality type

     4. Behavior is determined by the interaction between personality and
         environment

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Another item found for this assignment is Charles L. Mauro's blog which discusses the Wall Street melt-down and a possible major shift in the underlying psychological theories of human decision-making.  The blog goes on to say that the contemporary theory on human error research has shifted entirely from the idea of "decision-making" to the concept of "sense-making".

How New Theories in Human Information Processing Explain the Meltdown on Wall Street

In my position as a Training Specialist I have tried to teach that the computer is just a tool and that it should not replace the human thought process.  When someone is "stuck" trying to figure out how to make the computer do what they need it to do I tell the person to stop what they are doing on the machine, look away or even walk away and think about what needs to be accomplished. 

When done figuring out what makes sense for the task at hand, determine which part of the task the computer can do and which part needs to be done by people.  Too many times these days people think that if the computer can not do the task, the task is not possible.  I tell them to put people back in the equation, try to make sense of the situation and tap into the personal intellect that the computer is not capable of doing on it's own. 

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Lastly, nothing that I have found on-line is more complete with respect to the Learning Process than the following web site (Dynamic Flight, Inc., (2003) - it speaks for itself.

The Learning Process

This site encompasses everything we have discussed thus far in class.  One section of special interest to me is the section entitled Definition of Learning. 

"Learning can be defined as a change in behavior as a result of experience."

This is a powerful statement and one that will be explored for centuries as we try to figure out the best way to teach and thereby extend human knowledge.