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Brian Cambourne (brian_cambourne)
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| Email: | brian_cambourne [at] uow.edu.au |
| Address: | 4 Allora Close, Woollamia 2540 Australia |
| I Speak: | English |
| Member Since: | November 27, 2008 |
| Local Time: | Wed Feb 8 15:09:44 |
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I am currently a "Fellow" of the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong, NSW Australia. Being a " Fellow" simply means that one has retired from the usual responsibilities of working within a faculty and is no-longer receiving a salary, ( has a pension) but is still researching and publishing in areas that the Faculty has some interest in, ( and for which it can receive the " brownie points" that accrue with peer reviewed publications, presentations, and/or "discoveries").
In my research and writing I have long promoted the concept of "natural learning" in my field (Literacy Education) , but such a position is " poohed-poohed" by the many who adhere to a measurement-based, Newtonian paradigm of psychology. My interest in Biomimicry is based on research from a whole range of scientific disciplines which is converging towards these conclusions:
• 'meaning' is an internal cognitive construction of the human mind which serves to make sense of the world.
• 'making sense of the world' is essential for survival of both the individual and the species.
• the human mind is capable of constructing meaning using a range of symbol systems
• biological and cultural evolution has 'selected' the construction of meaning using a range of symbol systems as a species-survival trait for homo sapiens
• learning to create and communicate meaning using a range symbol systems needed to be a 'fail-safe' procedure in the evolution of human cultures and societies.
• learning to control the oral form of language of the culture into which one is born is the primary and predominant symbol system which members of a culture need to learn
Therefore if we can identify the cultural, social, ecological, and physical conditions which support the way in which children across all human cultures learn to control the language of the culture into which they're born, then we have the basis of a pedagogy for not only learning how to control the written form of language ( i.e. "read" and "write") which such cultures might develop, but a possible natural pedagogy for the "learning" ( I prefer " make-meanings about") any complex knowledge.
I suppose it's a "second order" form of Biomimicry, based on the evidence from both biological and cultural evolution. My hope is that just as scientists were able to develop velcrome by observing and learnng how " nature" had solved the problem of creating ways of "holding things together", so biological and cultural evolution might provide an almost " fail-safe" model of pedagogy which schools could adopt.
Anything would be better than the way kids a taught in most schools in Western Democracies today!!!
In my research and writing I have long promoted the concept of "natural learning" in my field (Literacy Education) , but such a position is " poohed-poohed" by the many who adhere to a measurement-based, Newtonian paradigm of psychology. My interest in Biomimicry is based on research from a whole range of scientific disciplines which is converging towards these conclusions:
• 'meaning' is an internal cognitive construction of the human mind which serves to make sense of the world.
• 'making sense of the world' is essential for survival of both the individual and the species.
• the human mind is capable of constructing meaning using a range of symbol systems
• biological and cultural evolution has 'selected' the construction of meaning using a range of symbol systems as a species-survival trait for homo sapiens
• learning to create and communicate meaning using a range symbol systems needed to be a 'fail-safe' procedure in the evolution of human cultures and societies.
• learning to control the oral form of language of the culture into which one is born is the primary and predominant symbol system which members of a culture need to learn
Therefore if we can identify the cultural, social, ecological, and physical conditions which support the way in which children across all human cultures learn to control the language of the culture into which they're born, then we have the basis of a pedagogy for not only learning how to control the written form of language ( i.e. "read" and "write") which such cultures might develop, but a possible natural pedagogy for the "learning" ( I prefer " make-meanings about") any complex knowledge.
I suppose it's a "second order" form of Biomimicry, based on the evidence from both biological and cultural evolution. My hope is that just as scientists were able to develop velcrome by observing and learnng how " nature" had solved the problem of creating ways of "holding things together", so biological and cultural evolution might provide an almost " fail-safe" model of pedagogy which schools could adopt.
Anything would be better than the way kids a taught in most schools in Western Democracies today!!!
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