my view of learning

I watch learning all the time. I guess that’s one of the biggest joys of parenthood. The way kids learn is fascinating. They watch some kid do something, copy what they see and do it themselves. I watched last night how my 1.5 year old learnt how to open the fridge by stepping on a pedal. How to open the fridge by using the pedal is hard for adults too, and most adults would just ask how to do it instead of just trying. He tried and tried for 5 minutes and then suddenly he got it open. He has seen how it works for 2 months, he wanted to do it himself, he wanted to see what’s inside and he wanted to be useful and help the rest of the family by providing this service. He managed and was happy. Then he went on to explore other things.

We could get very far in life only by maintaining a child’s mindset. Curiosity to everything, questioning everything (perhaps a little less is sometimes enough) and doing stuff that  are interesting and fun without thinking what others think if we do this or that.

Learning happens all the time. There are many theoretical approaches to learning and I will share with you my favorite theories. They all assemble learning in childhood, but the reason is natural. These are the “learning theories” that interest me right now:

- Developmental stage theory; cognitive theory by Jean Piaget

- Montessori education theory; constructivist theory developed by Maria Montessori

- Erikson's stages of psycho-social development, developed by Erik Erikson

Piaget, Montessori and Erikson are just a few scholars of many to mention, but they have given me many further thoughts and ideas. 

What interests me much at the moment is connectivism and e-learning. The idea that knowledge should be shared with others in order to develop the idea even further is the right approach. This can be used in learning in all ages and stages. I have found especially working-life as a place where knowledge is not shared as it could.  Employees and employers seem to keep information to themselves in order to share some important info at the right moment. I guess the reason is that  people want to show the rest that they are valuable to the organisation, should be reckoned with and should get a raise or at least get to keep their jobs when bad times come. I really hope we get out of that kind of working culture and move forward. There is so much potential at all levels in all work places. 

E-learning is my common surf destination. I am a rookie, found Tony Karrer's e-Learning blog and want to explore more.. We use adobe connect pro in our iVET course, but there seems to be a lot more out there..