Research paper: Learning is an act of creativity
For my Learning Theories course, I chose to write a culminating research paper that outlines my understanding of how learning really happens. I contend in this paper that all real learning is an act of creativity and so is different from knowing which is the more commonly understood and emphasized form of learning in mainstream education. I open the paper with the following commentary —
“A baby learns to sit, crawl, walk and speak all without acquiring externally imparted knowledge of how to do these activities or being instructed in doing them. Could you even imagine instructing a baby to crawl or speak? There is no instruction, no knowledge being passed on, no skill being communicated and yet the baby clearly learns. When we truly learn something, it is intrinsically motivated and without instruction. This kind of learning is powerful though underappreciated and almost never supported by mainstream schools. Yet, it happens, and happens all the time. Learning is different from ‘knowing’ which is the more commonly understood and accepted definition of ‘learning’. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines learning as “knowledge or skill acquired by instruction or study”. I call this kind of learning ‘knowing’ leaving aside the more powerful term ‘learning’ for the intrinsically motivated learning that is evident in the early motor activities of a baby. It is this ‘real’ learning that I explore in this paper. More specifically, I make three claims. I claim that learning is different and distinct from knowing. Learning is an act of creativity. Finally, I claim that it needs to be heavily emphasized in the changing landscape of today’s education.”
If that intrigues you, please read the paper and share your thoughts about it.