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.
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.
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- Identification
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| Figure 1 |
i.
Title: Additional Condenser to Newcomen Steam Pump
ii.
Date: 1763
iii.
Nationality: English
iv.
Creator: James Watt
v.
Medium: Invention
- 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.
-
- Identification
| Figure 2 |
i.
Title: Ivanhoe
ii.
Date: 1820
iii.
Nationality: Scottish
iv.
Author: Sir Walter Scott
v.
Medium: Novel
- 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 |
- Identification
i.
Title: Calculus
ii.
Date: 1671
iii.
Nationality: English
iv.
Creator: Sir Isaac Newton
v.
Medium: Idea
- 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.
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- Identification
 |
| Figure 4 |
i.
Title: Theory of Relativity
ii.
Date: 1905
iii.
Nationality: German
iv. Creator: Albert Einstein
v.
Medium: Idea
- 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.
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- Identification
| Figure 5 |
i.
Title: Uncertainty Principle
ii.
Date: 1932
iii.
Nationality:
iv.
Creator: Werner Heisenberg
v.
Medium: Idea
- 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.
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| Figure 6 |
i. Title: Man’s Search for Meaning
ii.
Date: 1945
iii.
Nationality: Austrian
iv.
Creator: Viktor Frankl
v.
Medium: Literature
- 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 |
-
- Identification
i.
Title: The Well Tempered Clavier
ii.
Date: 1722
iii.
Nationality: German
iv.
Creator: Johann Sebastian Bach
v.
Medium: Music
- 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 |
-
- Identification
i.
Title: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
ii.
Date: 1962
iii.
Nationality: American
iv.
Author: Thomas Kuhn
v.
Medium: Literature
- 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 |
-
- Identification
i.
Title: Oliver Twist
ii.
Date: 1838
iii.
Nationality: English
iv.
Author: Charles Dickens
v.
Medium: Literature
- 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
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
