Children, on-line learning and authentic teaching skills in primary education

    Personal Systems

 

 

          

 

 

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Location of knowledge

Consider the student using the computer in the following diagram:

 

If this student is also the one using the handheld and the one using the video camera... can you draw a boundary around the student's knowledge, capabilities?

 

Andy Clark in 'Natural Born Cyborgs' claims that we naturally acquire parts of our environment to extend our capabilities, in effect making things in our environment parts of our own systems.  

 

Personal Systems

By implication curriculum frameworks often identify the personal systems which are to be developed by education. Consider the personal systems implied by

 

Consider one of these frameworks eg, Essential Learnings.  The implied personal systems are those that the leaner uses to achieve the identified purposes, viz, to

  • think, know and understand

  • learn

  • communicate (relate, participate and care)

  • act in a socially responsibly (ethically)

  • consider and create his/her personal futures

  • live a full and healthy lifestyle 

 

Teaching and personal systems

Both scaffolding  and mediation attend to the personal systems of the learner

  • scaffolding focuses, complements and/or extends personal systems by providing assistance to the learner undertaking the learning activity ... see Ben's Story
  • mediation improves/enhances the functioning of the learners personal systems by increased attention to, and awareness of 
    • the meaning and significance of experience, 
    • way in which the learner is elaborating his/her thought, 
    • and effectiveness of responses

Mediation attends to many of the learning dysfunctions that can occur as a learner undertakes a learning activity. For examples of mediated learning see ... boring things and what to do... and how to achieve any goal. The focus of mediation is the improvement of the personal systems of the learner. The outcomes observed in 'what to do' clear demonstrate substantial improvements.

 

 

 

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