>In a previous contribution I have stressed the importance of emergent
>learning for individuals and organisations. I now wish to point out that
>there are certain templates which promote emergent learning. Four of them
>is known, namely: play (game), problem-solving (task), dialogue
>(conversation) and exemplar (case).
>Let us investigate the following statement:
>"Denying the four learning templates is an obstacle to learning."
>The following questions come to my mind.
>1. Is this statement true or false?
Certainly the very act of denial would constitute a self-created obstacle
to learning.
>2. Which obstacle occurs most frequently, 'depression' or
> 'denying learning templates'?
I don't know. I often observe depression or hear people talk about
depression in themselves or others. People tell their doctors that they
feel depressed. I've never heard anyone say "I have been denying learning
templates lately". Perhapswe have a low-level of awareness of this
phenomenon or simply don't use this language. I have heard people claim
that they don't have time for play or that the office is not the place for
such foolishness.
>3. Will the promotion of emergent learning through templates
> reduce the occurrance of depression?
This, I believe, has very exciting possibilities. Nursery schools use
play as a teaching technique, but it pretty much ends at 1st grade and
many adults have completely forgotten how to play. The workplace, the
school, the family, the individual, that incorporates a balance of all the
templates would certainly be more likely to be healthy, happy and
productive.
>4. Can the excessive use of one template to the detriment
> of the others cause depression and other psychological
> disorders?
We probably each need a different balance, but when our lives get out of
balance we tend to get sick, physically and mentally. Women seem to
easily use dialogue (conversation ) and exemplar (sharing their stories)
and men seem often to rely heavily on task. (I have revealed several of
my mental models in one sweep.) Psycotherapy seems to be based on the use
of dialogue and exemplar. If a patient already is using these templates,
perhaps incorporating play and task into their lives might be more
effective than more dialogue and exemplar.
Fascinating ideas! It's time for me to go play now.
--Roxanne Abbas 75263.3305@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>