Friday, February 23, 2007

The Science of Learning

This is the kind of science I like. Information framed in practical terms, rather than theory. Stuff I can actually apply to my work.

I started off reading Clive Shepherd's recap of a workshop he attended with Dr. Itiel Doror of Southampton University (UK). According to Clive,
Itiel is becoming a bit of a celebrity amongst the e-learning community in the
UK as someone who avoids the grand theories of learning and concentrates
instead on practical tips based on what we know about the brain and how it
works (assuming we really do and this I must place on trust).

I especially like the part about "avoiding grand theories of learning."

Stephen Downes wrote a rejoinder in which he gets into more of the neuroscience of it all. This one I'll have to read a few times in order to allow my little brain to understand it. (Repetition, repetition, repetition).

So much of this information is new to me, in spite of having been "doing" instructional design for so long...I greatly appreciate the education I'm getting. Thanks, gentlemen.

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