Learning Principles

Module 1

Something to think about . . . . labels and knowledge.

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  How researchers implicitly or explicitly define terms such as prior knowledge, domain knowledge, schema or metacognition influences the samples they choose, the measures they develop, and the conclusions they draw. More specifically, in our own areas, the labels we attach and the meaning associated with those labels reflects our own beliefs and biases.

  • Labels such as ADHD or Hyperactive often call to mind images of young male students who are disruptive or out of control in classroom settings.
  • Labels such as EH or MR may raise images of students outside the mainstream, with implicit assumptions about their ability to perform in the school environment and world of work.
  • Labels such as imbecile, idiot and moron may create emotional reactions because today they are seen as prejudicial.

  However, in a different time period, and thus a different culture, these labels were acceptable medical terms which conveyed many of the same meanings as ADHD, MR or EH.

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  The term knowledge refers to an individual's personal stock of information, skills, experiences, beliefs and memories. This knowledge is always idiosyncratic, reflecting the vagaries of a person's own history.

  This use of the term knowledge contrasts with the use of the term in the field of epistemology, where knowledge often refers to justified true beliefs and is reserved for absolute or universal truths.

  This distinction between the cognitive psychological definition and the epistemological definition is an important one. Psychologically, this definition suggests that while two individuals know the same thing (i.e. possess the same knowledge) they will both have somewhat different meanings or understandings associated with that knowledge.

  Your experience of a Florida Gulf Coast University is different than my experience, but we both know what FGCU is.

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