Learning Sciences

Upon coming across this cartoon, I've felt an urge to share it with you because it touches on some relevant issues we've been discussing since the very beginning of the course. Please first click on the picture to enlarge it, and sorry for this inconvenience :)

Thanks for your share Yasin :) This cartoon reminds me of the education in Turkey. While areas like science, math, biology are thought to be important, unfortunately art, literature, music, dance etc. are underestimated. They are thought to be just hobbies and not enough attention is given to them. People interested in these areas are thought to be wasting their time or unsuccessful. Again unfortunatelly we cannot change this perception. I wish there were more people around me who were given the chance to show their talents and whose talents do not fade away.

You're welcome Seda :) It is even more depressing to know that this perception won't change as long as we live under today's economical perceptions. It is simply "be a part of the system or get ready to be called as marginal" :)

In this TED talk delivered by Nicholas Christakis, you can see how important the role of networks in our lives is. You will also be introduced to some visualization of network analyses which are gaining a crucial role in examining the connections among people or neurons.

As the literature on expertise underscores, "thinking" or "metacognition" is a key factor in expertise. Dr. Cabrera, in this talk, discusses the weakness of 'encyclopedic' knowledge possessed by Ivy League students and harshly criticize them for they struggle to transfer those memorized knowledge. It could be said he addresses "a mile wide and an inch deep" approach taken by curriculum designers nowadays, which prevents deep understanding of issues that an expert is expected to have. According to him, "system is broken." As a result, he offers his own DSRP (Distinctions, Systems, Relationships, Perspectives) theory, which, in my opinion, summarizes what a "genuine expert" possesses in terms of knowledge transfer. Enjoy it!

SRI International research examines many of the topics we cover in class on learning sciences. Worth to check.

Hey everyone. This is the Science of Learning Research Centre. Researchers in education, neuroscience and cognitive psychology work together with teachers to understand the learning process.