Final Learning Project HONORS 202

Final Learning Project - Final Draft

Learning Definition

My working definition for learning can be completely defined in a few words. While I believe that learning technically involves connections made in your brain, my definition of learning has more to do with the evidence of learning. I believe that the most common evidence of learning is intentional change, or in other words, change by design. When someone changes their habits, it is because they learned something. When someone changes jobs, it could be because they learned of a better opportunity. I believe that anytime someone intentionally makes a change in whatever aspect of their life, they are learning. I also believe that in order to be truly learning, one must be changing.

In order to better understand learning and how to learn, I have chosen a few artifacts from history to help develop learning in a new civilization. The following 9 artifacts are organized into two sections: Changing as a result of learning, and changing to spread learning.

Results of Learning

The following 6 artifacts display examples of willful changes that were brought about by learning. These artifacts help one to discover the importance of change in learning, and the different ways in which one can make changes because of what they have learned.

1.  



Figure 1

1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: Additional Condenser to Newcomen Steam Pump

                                                             ii.      Date: 1763

                                                            iii.      Nationality: English

                                                           iv.      Creator: James Watt

                                                             v.      Medium: Invention

2. Justification

The additional condenser added to the Newcomen Steam Pump that James Watt added in 1763 greatly improved the efficiency of the steam pump. Watt intentionally changed the design of the pump in hopes of achieving greater efficiency. He was able to apply what he had learned about condensers to the steam pump in order to improve its efficiency.

2.  



Figure 2

1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: Ivanhoe

                                                             ii.      Date: 1820

                                                            iii.      Nationality: Scottish

                                                           iv.      Author: Sir Walter Scott

                                                             v.      Medium: Novel

2. Justification

Ivanhoe shows Sir Walter Scott’s learning in relation to literature. Scott changed genres various times until he came to the historical fiction, which Ivanhoe is written in. He learned that people wanted more romantic novels and he changed to historical fiction to better adapt to a romantic style of writing.

Figure 3

3. 
   
1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: Calculus

                                                             ii.      Date: 1671

                                                            iii.      Nationality: English

                                                           iv.      Creator: Sir Isaac Newton

                                                             v.      Medium: Idea

2. Justification

The idea of calculus, invented by Sir Isaac Newton, embodies the concept of learning. The invention and use of this idea was an important change that Newton made. Because of what he had learned regarding the idea that math was an important basis for science, Newton was able to change from previous methods of modeling dynamic systems to using calculus instead.

4.  



Figure 4

1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: Theory of Relativity

                                                             ii.      Date: 1905

                                                            iii.      Nationality: German

                                                           iv.      Creator: Albert Einstein

                                                             v.      Medium: Idea

2. Justification

The Theory of Relativity, developed by Albert Einstein, was a change that affects all cell phone, satellite and GPS communication around the world today. Because of Einstein’s experimentation with light, electrons and Maxwell’s equations, he learned that the leading theory of the time, luminiferous aether, was not true at all. Because of this discovery, he created the Theory of Relativity to try to reconcile the current laws of mechanics with those of electricity and magnetism. This theory changed the way the laws of mechanics applied to speeds close to the speed of light.

5.  



Figure 5

1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: Uncertainty Principle

                                                             ii.      Date: 1932

                                                            iii.      Nationality:

                                                           iv.      Creator: Werner Heisenberg

                                                             v.      Medium: Idea

2. Justification

The Uncertainty Principle, developed by Werner Heisenberg, is a wonderful example of learning. It is a change in thought that changes every scientific/mathematical theory. Science and math before this principle were absolute. Through experimentation, Heisenberg learned that the sum of 2 and 2 did not always equal 4. This was because the number 2 was not always 2. With this principle, 2 + 2 = 4 changes to 2 ± .03 + 2 ± .03 = 4 ± .06. This principle allowed all scientists to change their theories to include uncertainty.

Spreading Learning

Now that we have explored the importance of changing in the learning process, we will explore the importance of spreading learning. Just as learning is changing, spreading learning is causing change in others. The following 3 artifacts are examples of how people caused change in others, which in turn helped others learn.

Figure 6

6.  


1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: Man’s Search for Meaning

                                                             ii.      Date: 1945

                                                            iii.      Nationality: Austrian

                                                           iv.      Creator: Viktor Frankl

                                                             v.      Medium: Literature

2. Justification

In Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Frankl presents the idea that human beings always have control over what their individual attitudes are. He writes about how, in order to survive, one must often change their attitude about life by finding meaning in their circumstances. This change of attitude that he describes is a direct consequence of learning. Those who change their attitudes to survive do so because they have seen others who haven’t changed their attitudes and consequently have not survived.

Figure 7

7.  
1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: The Well Tempered Clavier

                                                             ii.      Date: 1722

                                                            iii.      Nationality: German

                                                           iv.      Creator: Johann Sebastian Bach

                                                             v.      Medium: Music

2. Justification

The Well Tempered Clavier was a huge step in music to prove a theory. Johann Sebastian Bach had learned, along with many others, that the original Pythagorean scales for music were not exactly pleasing to the ear when instruments played in multiple keys. This could often be accounted for by tuning the instrument and/or the adjustment of play by the individual musician. However, in cases such as the organ, where multiple keys could be played in the same piece of music, tuning and adjustment of play could not be applied. Tempering was the solution. When Bach learned of tempering, he not only changed to tempering, but he also created The Well Tempered Clavier to promote the idea of tempering the original Pythagorean musical scales. 

Figure 8

8.  
1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

                                                             ii.      Date: 1962

                                                            iii.      Nationality: American

                                                           iv.      Author: Thomas Kuhn

                                                             v.      Medium: Literature

2. Justification

The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn, is culmination of learning. As a result of the many changes in scientific thinking over the centuries, Kuhn suggested that changes, called “paradigm shifts,” occurred over and over again. This shows learning because not only does Kuhn recognize that changes have occurred in the past, but he also presents the idea that in order for great learning to happen in the future, “paradigm shifts” must occur.

Figure 9

9.  
1. Identification

                                                               i.      Title: Oliver Twist

                                                             ii.      Date: 1838

                                                            iii.      Nationality: English

                                                           iv.      Author: Charles Dickens

                                                             v.      Medium: Literature

2. Justification

The book, Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens, is an example of learning and teaching. Dickens grew up in the slums of England and was greatly oppressed by England’s industrialization. During his experience, he learned that it was not right what was happening to him and the rest of England’s poverty. He wrote this book to invoke change in England’s government. Because of his learning and teaching through the concepts presented in Oliver Twist, England began to reform. His book became popular across the world and influenced policy change in many different nations.

Personal Application

My definition of learning is intentional change, or in other words, change by design. When someone changes their habits, it is because they learned something. When someone changes majors, it could be because they learned more about their strengths and weaknesses. I believe that any time someone intentionally makes a change in whatever aspect of their life, they are learning. I also believe that in order to be truly learning, one must be changing. Learning, by this definition, is occurring a lot in my life these days. While learning occurs for me at home, school and work, the most learning occurs for me at home.

One month ago my wife gave birth to a baby boy named Elijah. He is our second and his older sister, Ivy, was only 16 months old when he was born. While we were ready to give birth and didn’t have any surprises with the birth, having two kids did seem to add more work than just the work of two only-child kids. There is a funny phrase that I have seen on the Internet that mentions the difference between 1 and 2 children. It says that with one kid, you (the father and mother) are parents, but with two kids, you are now referees. This change from parent to referee only occurs when the parent learns that it is beneficial and/or necessary.

My wife and I learned quickly that we would have to make the change. Our daughter loves our new baby boy and constantly wants to climb on him, pat his head (which is actually more like hitting, no matter how innocent her true intentions are), and hug him to death. We have learned that the problem is, without supervision, our daughter could really hurt our boy. After learning of Ivy’s rough approach to loving her new baby brother, we were able to change into referees. This change did not occur overnight, nor did it happen in one big change. It is, instead, a more gradual change.

I had become accustomed to going to the bathroom by myself without worrying about what my daughter was doing. This can no longer happen. If I go to the bathroom, even with our boy in the Pack ‘n Play, our daughter will try to climb in with him. She throws toys in to him so that he can play with them. He’s 4 weeks old and does not play with the toys. He just gets hit by them and cries. I have had to change my bathroom habits when I am alone with both kids. Ivy needs to be in a room with the doors closed while Elijah has to be left in another room where she can’t get to him. If Ivy finishes her dinner before my wife and I do, then we need to take turns blocking her attempts to crawl in the Pack ‘n Play with Elijah. My wife and I can’t have a conversation unless Ivy is asleep because one of us needs to be actively defending Elijah while he sleeps or lies down. These are just a few examples of the limitless changes that have been or will be made.

Almost every aspect of our lives at home has changed because of learning that Ivy is too rough with Elijah. The changes we have made show that we have learned from Ivy’s behavior. If we had not learned, we would not have changed. This reminds me of Newton’s first law. It says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest while a moving object tends to continue to move unless acted on by unbalanced forces. When I am not learning I am not changing. Learning is the unbalanced force that causes me to make the desired/necessary changes.

I believe that if modern society adopted this way of learning completely, there would be much more progress made in the world. Societies, cultures, nations, governments, communities, organizations and individual people are often hesitant to make changes even when they have experienced learning. This slows down progress and eliminates the purpose of learning. If one learns something and does not change, have they really learned anything at all? I argue that they have not. When something is learned, something must be changed. 

Image Citations

Figure 1................................................................http://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/
Figure 2..........................................................http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sir_walter_scotts_ivanhoe/
Figure 3................................................................http://users.wfu.edu/kuz/Stamps/Newton/Newton.htm
Figure 4...........http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/03/26/viktor-frankl-mans-search-for-meaning/
Figure 5...........................................................http://ocw.tufts.edu/Content/36/lecturenotes/393022/393070
Figure 6...............................................http://www.alberteinsteinsite.com/physics/relativity/generaltheory.html
Figure 7................................................................http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Well-Tempered_Clavier
Figure 8................................................................http://lareviewofbooks.org/article.php?id=564&fulltext=1
Figure 9.........................http://classic-literature.findthedata.org/compare/42-60/Hard-Times-vs-Oliver-Twist