Using Talk to Reason Together Neil Mercer
Our research shows that when students learn how to use talk to reason together, they become better at reasoning on their own. | Neil Mercer Continue reading Using Talk to Reason Together Neil Mercer
an online book by David Gurteen
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education also follows a structured approach but occurs outside the formal schooling system, while informal education involves unstructured learning through daily experiences. Formal and non-formal education are categorized into levels, including early childhood education, primary education, secondary education, and tertiary education. Other classifications focus on teaching methods, such as teacher-centered and student-centered education, and on subjects, such as science education, language education, and physical education. Additionally, the term "education" can denote the mental states and qualities of educated individuals and the academic field studying educational phenomena.
The precise definition of education is disputed, and there are disagreements about the aims of education and the extent to which education differs from indoctrination by fostering critical thinking. These disagreements impact how to identify, measure, and enhance various forms of education. Essentially, education socializes children into society by instilling cultural values and norms, equipping them with the skills necessary to become productive members of society. In doing so, it stimulates economic growth and raises awareness of local and global problems. Organized institutions play a significant role in education. For instance, governments establish education policies to determine the timing of school classes, the curriculum, and attendance requirements. International organizations, such as UNESCO, have been influential in promoting primary education for all children.
Many factors influence the success of education. Psychological factors include motivation, intelligence, and personality. Social factors, such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and gender, are often associated with discrimination. Other factors encompass access to educational technology, teacher quality, and parental involvement.
The primary academic field examining education is known as education studies. It delves into the nature of education, its objectives, impacts, and methods for enhancement. Education studies encompasses various subfields, including philosophy, psychology, sociology, and economics of education. Additionally, it explores topics such as comparative education, pedagogy, and the history of education.
In prehistory, education primarily occurred informally through oral communication and imitation. With the emergence of ancient civilizations, the invention of writing led to an expansion of knowledge, prompting a transition from informal to formal education. Initially, formal education was largely accessible to elites and religious groups. The advent of the printing press in the 15th century facilitated widespread access to books, thus increasing general literacy. In the 18th and 19th centuries, public education gained significance, paving the way for the global movement to provide primary education to all, free of charge, and compulsory up to a certain age. Presently, over 90% of primary-school-age children worldwide attend primary school.
Credit: Wikipedia - educationOur research shows that when students learn how to use talk to reason together, they become better at reasoning on their own. | Neil Mercer Continue reading Using Talk to Reason Together Neil Mercer
Gurteen Knowledge Blog November 13, 2022, 20:32. One aspect of conversation that particularly intrigues me is its history. I’ve spent considerable time reading about the 17th-century and 18th-century Coffeehouses of London and the Paris Salons. Still, the history of conversation goes back much further to the Renaissance and the philosophers of ancient Greece. At the moment, I … Continue reading Education as an Initiation Into the Conversation of Humankind Michael Oakeshott
Gurteen Knowledge Blog June 30, 2023, 09:31. Many people criticize ChatGPT for its potential to harm students’ critical thinking abilities. However, I have a different opinion and believe that it can be a powerful tool to enhance thinking. I plan to write more about this in the future, but for now, in this post ChatGPT: Your critical … Continue reading Chatgpt as a Valuable Thinking Partner ChatGPT and critical thinking
If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him. | John Holt Continue reading Don’t Try to Force a Child to Do What He Is Afraid to Do John Holt
A good educational system should have three purposes: it should provide all who want to learn with access to available resources at anytime in their lives; empower all who want to share what they know to find those who want to learn it from them; and finally, furnish all who want to present an issue to the public with the opportunity to make their … | Ivan Illich Continue reading A Good Educational System Ivan Illich
We are shut up in schools and college recitation rooms for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bellyful of words and do not know a thing. Credit: Ralph Waldo Emerson Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of human history A Knowledge Café in English, French … Continue reading Shut Up in Schools Ralph Waldo Emerson
Gurteen Knowledge Blog October 24, 2023, 07:52. We’ve become so reliant on written exams and essays that we’ve forgotten the value of old-school oral assessments. This fascinating article, Bring Back the Lost Art of Oral Exams, reminds us that oral exams have a long, venerable history dating back millennia. Though they faded in popularity over time, oral … Continue reading Reviving Oral Exams The value of oral assessments in education
Show me a Professor of Education who lectures, and I’ll show you a hypocrite who doesn’t read the research. Credit: Donald Clarke Books: Donald ClarkeShow Me a Professor of Education Who Lectures Donald ClarkeQuotations: Donald ClarkeShow Me a Professor of Education Who Lectures Donald ClarkeTags: education (24) | lecture (11)Google Web Search Photo Credits: Pixabay (Pixabay)This … Continue reading Show Me a Professor of Education Who Lectures Donald Clarke
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. | Plutarch Continue reading The Mind Is Not a Vessel to Be Filled but a Fire to Be Kindled Plutarch
Don’t ask kids what they want to be when they grow up but what problems do they want to solve. This changes the conversation from who do I want to work for, to what do I need to learn to be able to do that. | Jaime Casap Continue reading Don’t Ask Kids What They Want to Be When They Grow Up Jaime Casap
We teachers – perhaps all human beings – are in the grip of an astonishing delusion. We think that we can take a picture, a structure, a working model of something, constructed in our minds out of long experience and familiarity, and by turning that model into a string of words, transplant it whole into the mind of someone else. Perhaps once in a … | John Holt Continue reading We Are in the Grip of an Astonishing Delusion John Holt
Gurteen Knowledge Blog January 13, 2021, 11:37. Over the past few years, much has been reported in the press about so-called cancel culture and deplatforming where activists deny speakers with controversial opinions access to University venues. In 2019 Cambridge University rescinded its offer of a visiting fellowship to Jordan Peterson, who has attracted controversy for his views … Continue reading Freedom of Speech in Universities It’s our duty to tolerate colleagues even when they say things that we consider foolish
The problem is not people being uneducated. The problem is that people are educated just enough to believe what they have been taught, and not educated enough to question anything from what they have been taught. | Richard Feynman Continue reading The Problem Is Not People Being Uneducated Richard Feynman
A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country? | George Washington Continue reading A Primary Object of Education Should Be the Science of Government George Washington
Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich, first published in 1971 and reissued in 2000, is a seminal critique of the modern education system. Illich argues that institutionalized schooling is counterproductive to genuine learning and perpetuates social inequalities. Here are the key points of his argument: 1. Critique of Institutionalized Education Illich contends that schools have become … Continue reading Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich (2000)
Chatbots and Genai in Knowledge Management From Mind to Information – the Role of AI in Knowledge Encoding Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close As AI increasingly shapes our world, we need to consider its effect on … Continue reading Artificial Intelligence and the Quest for Knowledge Exploring the parallels between Plato’s Phaedrus and the challenges of GenAI
Introduction: Conversational Learning The Power of Peer Learning Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Traditional lectures often fail to engage students in real understanding. People need more than just information—they need to make sense of it through … Continue reading The Power of Peer Instruction Why explaining ideas to others leads to deeper learning
How Beliefs Shape Reasoning Discrediting People ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Motivated reasoning is where we look for arguments in favor of conclusions we want to believe, regardless of the evidence. This is a primary … Continue reading Science Curiosity A desire to seek out and consume scientific information for pleasure
Turn-taking in Conversation Our Most Powerful Technology Is Conversation Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Pask’s Conversation Theory, developed by British cybernetician Gordon Pask in the 1970s, is a conceptual and theoretical framework that explores how learning … Continue reading Conversation Theory ** Gordon Pask
Say So, If You Don’t Have an Opinion Owning Our Mistakes ** Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Carpe diem is a Latin aphorism, usually translated as “seize the day” or “pluck the day [as it is … Continue reading Carpe Diem – Seize the Day Seize the day everyone
Dialogic Organization Development The Power of Team Huddles Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close Flipped teaching reverses, or “flips”, traditional in-class lectures and homework. Students watch the teacher’s prerecorded lecture at home, and in-class time is used … Continue reading Flipped Teaching Speech is a bad medium for communicating information – so watch lectures at home
It is often suggested that offering rewards is necessary to motivate people, particularly when it comes to sharing their knowledge. However, this strategy is ultimately ineffective and potentially harmful in the long run. Continue reading Punished by Rewards Loving what you do is a more powerful motivator than any goody
Knowledge Café: Refreshments Knowledge Cafés at Conferences Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close I would not advise it unless you have a choice, but Knowledge Cafés can be held in a lecture theatre. As you can see … Continue reading Knowledge Café: Lecture Theatre Cafés can even be run in lecture theatres
Become a Conversation Architect Rediscovering Rhetoric Close Pop-up all posts in this chapter What’s the Vibe? Please be patient as this may take up to a minute to load… Close In education, considerable emphasis is placed on numeracy and literacy — understanding and working with numbers and reading and writing. But what about the capacity … Continue reading Oracy The ability to express oneself in and understand spoken language