Two Blogs

I love good conversation especially when it is built around good writing. I felt like a fly on the wall reading this post. I would like to focus my attention on one line out of Bill Kerr’s post; “I (Bill) have always depicted cognitivism as a response to behaviorism” (Kerr, 2007). I believe this statement put the two theories in perspective. If there is no reason to learn what we want to learn and also what we are required to learn, then would we utilize our cognitive skills. For many of us who find learning exciting, and with few road blocks, the answer would seem like a resounding “yes”.

I would venture to say that we are somehow rewarded by our learning. I first started to put all my energy into learning after my mom died (15 years ago). It kept my mind busy and my focus off of the pain. That was reward in itself. Over time however, I needed learning less to hide my emotions and found satisfaction in research and learning. It was like a puzzle and I like to see children grow and break down cultural barriers due to their learning. All of this unwritten rewards for my work; Do I think about this when I am enjoying learning? No, it is now intrinsic and I learn for the love of learning. However, the learning was a response to behaviorism.

Not everyone finds joy in the path of learning. It is the grade, or getting a diploma so they can make more money at their job that motivates them to put their cognitive skills to work; again, a response to behaviorism. Cognitive skills do not come easy to everyone. It takes practice and consistent use of skills to grow and maintain strategies for learning. I think as teachers we sometimes expect children to possess skills for learning, but fail to teach them strategies to use and grow their cognitive skills. The same rings true for learning good behavior. As Piaget and other theorist point out, learning takes place in stages, we are always evolving and moving toward a more fluent use of knowledge. I also like how Kapp pointed out that “learning is not one thing…it is a multilayered word that tends to get treated as if it were just one thing… and it’s not” (Kapp, 2007).

I believe the _isms are as important as the theories. A community needs a common thread that ties knowledge together. Agree, disagree, or indignant, the _isms create a common ground to build off of as new information is integrated into old thoughts that resonate the same issues of today.

Kapp, K. (2007, January 2). Out and About: Discussion on Educational Schools of Thought.
Message posted to http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-
educational.html

Kerr, B. (2007, January 1). _isms as filters, not blinkers. Message posted to
http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

Metaphor of Education

Siemen’s (2008) “Metaphor of Education” that most stands out to me is the educator as “curator”. Having spent several years studying the pedagogy of Reggio Emilia and the Hundred Languages of Children, I believe that children learn through experiencing their topic of interest. The Reggio approach comes from Italy and believes that children learn through representing their learning on a topic through media, discussion, art, writing, the building of concepts and background about their learning, and much more. It is commonly referred to as the project approach in the states.
The curator is the subject matter expert and acts as the facilitator of knowledge. I feel that it is the most prescriptive of the metaphors offered. The “teacher” provides opportunities for the learner to come to their own conclusion and solutions to answer a question. The teacher provides resources and experiences that are directly related to the needs of the learner. The learner has the option of representing their acquired knowledge through a variety of modalities. Learning is fluid and constantly building off of previous knowledge.
As I was trying to think of my own metaphor, I first thought of a cook, mixing all those flavors together and experimenting with combinations as a learner does as they sift through information. However, once the ingredients are mixed together, they become one and it is difficult to distinguish one ingredient (idea) from the other. I thought about a sculptor. A sculptor can change designs and learn from misconceptions. All strong traits for a learner, but when they start over, they have to completely erase the first design and knowledge is built off of all conceptions, including misconceptions. I settled on the metaphor of the educator as a sailor.
A sailor draws on knowledge to maintain a constant momentum; similar to the drive of the learner. A sailor is a master of knowledge, but has to continuously look to the environment to build new concepts because he is in an ever changing environment. The sailor draws from past experiences to make sense of current knowledge, but must use current situations to determine if the current understanding holds up or if he has to form a new idea based on current events. A sailor has many tools to draw from. His equipment is vast and with the right use of what is available, he can make predictions and draw conclusions from the results. He interacts with his learning and is constantly evaluating the current situation to reconstruct his previous knowledge.


Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from
http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf